


Give Me Shudders In a Whisper

by Eltrkbarbarella



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Porn, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Hand Jobs, Implied Markimash, M/M, Masturbation, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pornstars, Twinks, pornstar!Jacksepticeye
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2018-06-05 18:50:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 36,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6716929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eltrkbarbarella/pseuds/Eltrkbarbarella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark finds himself a new favorite porn company.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Video Crush

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so this is my first fanfic for this fandom, I still have quite a few unfinished septiplier fics that may eventually be posted here as well, but for now I have this one.  
> I will try to update once every 2 weeks, but college is kicking my ass lately so be warned.  
> English is not my first language so if you find any typos please let me know!  
> Oh and the title comes from Girls on Film by Duran Duran.

Mark was feeling a little beat up on that Tuesday, his engineering course was getting pretty stressful with the first essays just peeking around the corner, and god knows he hated doing essays. He sat down heavily on his computer chair. Time for the best de-stressing technique he had:

Masturbation.

Slow, scrumptious, delicious masturbation.

 

Mark browsed trough tumblr and found a porn gif: a close up on a round butt taking a fairly large cock and jiggling slightly with the motion. You could see a hand squeezing and separating the cheeks to fully expose the plush pink hole being penetrated. It was delicious; an immediate addition to Mark's porn folder.

  
There were a few problems with it, though. The most prominent being the fact that the loop was too abrupt, way too short to develop more of the motion and immerse the viewer into the moment. The other problem was the image quality: it had that particular grainy texture of low-res gifs, he could see there was some kind of watermark on the bottom right corner but it was illegible.  
  
That didn't stop him from using that gif to get off for a few months though.  
  
God, he loved chicks that could handle anal. Staring at the short looping image he pondered: maybe this girl pushed back into the penetration later on, maybe she just flopped down on the bed and let her hole be used. Ugh, he wanted to actually watch the video and find out.

 

 

 

  
And so began the great hunt for the source of "that one anal gif”.  
  
He combed through the notes of that post, singling out reblogs with addition of text, in the hopes that maybe one of them had a source link. After strings of eggplant and peach emojis and people asking for the source he found a promising lead: one blog reblogged it with "ETB's stuff always makes me super horny"  
  
Now that he had a possible name, yeah, the blurry watermark kind of looked like the letters ETB highly stylized and all squished together. The hash tags in that post read a "Carter & Yami".  
  
Now that he had a lead, Mark typed ETB porn in his search bar...  
  
Now that was odd... the results were apparently for a gay porn site...  
  
Oh!  
  
He switched to image search, new search: Yami ETB.  
  
And yes, a boyish looking guy showed up on the screen, and in the middle of all the results he could see the one gif that started it all.  
  
He went back to the original research. He clicked on a redtube link, apparently to a video collection of this particular company.

  
After a few pages he fleetingly saw the name Carter and gave pause.

A few boxes down he found what he was after: Carter and Yami get it on by Euro Twink Boys.

 

Very cautiously, Mark decided to press play.

 

Mark had always considered himself to be straight. He had no reason to doubt that, women were nice and soft and jiggly, they felt nice pressed up against his body, and he doubted a muscular and hairy dude would provide the same effect.

 

But as of right now, the man on the screen, well... to be completely honest... he was pretty hot.

 

Yami was on all fours on top of a very soft looking bed; his butt was just as the gif suggested: soft, round and plush. He was lean, if not very muscular, his floppy hair stuck to his forehead with perspiration as he threw his head back, he had a soft pink mouth just open enough to deliver little gaspy moans, his vowels long and open with little emphasis on the R in Carter's name, a British menace.

 

After a quite satisfying orgasm Mark could safely say he found himself enlightened.

 

He certainly found this Yami person attractive; he could maintain an erection and achieve a climax through gay porn.

 

Mark decided to explore this new bicuriosity, and clicked back to the homepage of the website. In the homepage there was a list of categories, it was sort of a crash course in gay porn lingo.

 

Bears didn't really do it for him, bbc and huge dicks scared him a little, frat boys didn't titillate him at all, but twinks...

 

There was just something about guys with slim bodies, soft skin and big doe eyes, race, age and context didn't matter at all.

 

With a resigned sigh and the certainty that he had found his type, Mark went back to ETB's account. He flipped through a few of Yami's videos, still marveling at the excitement he felt but a particular title caught his attention, "Mark, Jack and Yami 3way".

 

The video started right in the middle of the action, obviously a highlight reel to convince casual viewers to buy a subscription.

A thick erect cock dominated the center of the shot, he could see that it belonged to someone quite muscled, _oh!_ And apparently a natural redhead. Yami was kneeling on the guy's left side, and on his right there was the most incredible pair of blue eyes Mark had ever seen. The guy had a very slight scruff of beard and shortly trimmed chestnut brown hair, he was biting his ridiculously pretty pink lips.

  
The screen cut to a different scene, now Yami and the brunette were kissing each other around the tip of the other guy's dick, he could just see flashes of the slick pink tongues wrapping around the head spreading precum and drool all over their lips.  
  
Another quick jump cut and now there was a side view of the brunette licking the other guys dick. He didn't take it all that deeply, but what he lacked on deepthroating he made up on energetic licking. He moved his head away for a while, just to give Yami enough space to take the guy's dick down to the root, face red and nose scrunched up a little pressed against red curls.  
  
The scene changed again and this time they were positioned on top of a bed. The brunette was straddling the redhead's hips, a quick zoom in showed a perky butt being spread apart just enough to expose a slick pink hole, for a moment Mark felt the insane urge to lick his screen.  
  
"Do ya want me, Mark?" Asked the brunette on the screen with a thick Irish accent. Mark nodded for a second forgetting the question wasn't addressed to him. The Irishman, presumably Jack, sat down just enough to insert the tip of Mark's cock in him. "Do ya want to fuck me, Mark?" He asked again, this time starting a slow grind, circling his hips almost as if in slow motion. In real life Mark squeezed his cock trough his underpants, not at all surprised to be hard again.  
  
After that scene the video cut to a shot of Yami again, this time straddling Mark's shoulders and feeding him his cock, Yami's fingers raking through short red hair. For a moment there Mark had forgotten Yami was part of the video as well.  
  
The screen faded to black, in white letters the names started showing up. First Mark, the redheaded top, after his name a scene focusing on his toned body and facial expressions slowly panning down to his large cock. The second name was Jack, his scene appeared to be a continuation of the last one, but now he was considerably more disheveled: messy hair, glassy eyes, open mouth. He had his arms against Mark's pecs and wasn't so much riding him anymore... he was more holding on for dear life while being fucked into oblivion. He started with a few gaspy moans but soon dissolved into almost shouting.  
  
Mark paused the video...  
And rewound it to Jack's name again...  
And again…  
He did it one more time...  
  
God, he was loud; such a little spitfire.  
  
Mark stroked his cock through his underwear.  
  
He let the video continue this time. Yami's name was almost underwhelming. It showed him on his back on the bed being fucked quite thoroughly by Mark and simultaneously being sucked off by Jack, he was red in the face and had his eyes tightly shut with his head thrown back just barely letting out whimpers.  
  
The final screen had the title of the video once again and the logo of the company, the words "sign up today" more tempting than ever.


	2. Fantasy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark's amazing journey of anxiety and excitement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am ridiculously sick this week, like, the PLAGUE is probably milder than this, excuse any messy writing and enjoy the porn, once again if you find any grammar mistakes or typos warn me in the comments, English is not my first language and I currently don't have a beta so your help really matters to me. I am actually pleasantly surprised with the feedback I've been getting with this fic, thank you guys so much for all the kudos and comments.

Mark is having a hard time making this particular decision in his life. A few videos on redtube, a couple of porn blogs on tumblr, those are fine... even natural! But this was some next level shit. It’s the third day already, he opens up Euro Twink Boys’ website, gazes without absorbing any information on the site tour, watches the introduction video about 5 times and goes to the subscription page.

It’s just his luck the site doesn’t have a free trial time.

The act of becoming one of those guys that pay monthly fees for porn, it just makes him feel like a creepy pervert. The site by itself isn’t as bad as some he’s seen: a simple stylized header with the name, minimalist design with clear sections.

New videos

Archive

Behind the scenes

Photoshoots

Actors

Become a member

He flips his credit card between unsteady fingers again.

This is ridiculous.

He calls Wade.

...

"Hey, Mark!" His best friend’s voice sounds quite chipper trough the receiver.

"Wade, tell me I’m not a pervert." Mark squirms against his computer chair; he might have been a little over anxious and blurted out his sentence quite awkwardly. There is a moment of silence on the other line.

"... You are not a pervert," his friend says calmly.

"Alright." Mark states, faking confidence with his feet tapping rhythmically on the floor.

"Are you going to tell me why you needed me to say that?" Wade tries cautiously, obviously a little worried about the situation.

".... yeeeeess..." He isn’t avoiding the subject at all.

...

"Mark?"

"So maybe I’m a little bisexual," Mark pushes his glasses up to his hair and covers his face with the hand not holding his cell phone. Not exactly the smoothest way to explain the current situation, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

"Is this about that gif again?" Wade says, sounding at the same time understanding and exasperated.

"Kinda... yeah... So I’ve found their website, their paid website."

"Mark, I told you already, I’m still your friend no matter what you’re into… unless it’s necrophilia, then you are on your own". Wade is a good friend, didn’t freak out at all after helping Mark through that little revelation about himself. There was really no better person to share this moment of indecisiveness with. Wade is a silly doof with bad jokes but he is kind of the moral support in their group of friends.

"Well I’m really into this one guy..." He starts a little awkwardly.

"What guy? Do I know him?"

"No, you don’t know him, he- he’s the… ‘video guy’" Mark does air quotes for a while until he realizes Wade can’t see them through the phone. He was nervous Ok? Don’t judge!

"The.... video guy..." He tries sounding supportive while holding his laughter; it isn’t really working so far.

"Yes the video guy! The Jack guy- you know, the loud one with the blue- what the fuck Wade, you know this already we’ve talked about this before, don’t make me say it again!"

"Believe me, I know far more than I would like," His friend dissolves into giggles barely squeezing his sentence trough the wheezing laughter.

"God damn it Wade!" Mark feels himself blush and pushes his glasses back into place twirling his chair a few times to rid himself of his nervousness.

"So..."

"So what!?"  
  
"Wow Mr. Crankey Pants Mc Douche, so what do you want to say about Video Guy?"

"Oh..." Mark pauses, tapping his feet on the ground again, "So about that..."

"Go on."

"I’m really into the Jack guy, and I couldn’t find any of his full movies on redtube"

"And that is a problem because..."

"Cause I really want to watch the whole thing, and the only way to do that is buying a subscription to their website." Mark feels like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. Isn’t it strange how this thing was just making him lose his cool so completely?

"And you feel like a pervert because you are actually buying porn and not just mooching it off pirated videos?" Well, that sounds so simple. He really needed that outside view after all.

"Yeah... damn it, Wade, you make me sound pretty dumb."

"Just buy the damn subscription, beat it to the cute guy’s cute face and stop beating yourself up about it, hehe."

Mark laughs despite himself; it is a pretty terrible pun.

"Oh glorious pun master, thank you for sharing your wisdom!" Mark chuckles to himself, a little ashamed of his nervousness. He does feel a lot less anxious about the whole thing. "But seriously, thank you, man."

"Hey, relax. I’m here for you man,” And he really means it, Mark was sure of it. “Call me again if you want to grab a pizza with me and Bob one of these days."

"Sure, sure."

"Alright now go masturbate! See ya, you big creepy perv!"

Wade hung up before Mark could protest about the name calling leaving Mark to pout and ponder once again the half-filled join now page. Twirling his credit card between his fingers he continues filling in his data. Out of all the options the less daunting one was the weeklong account; it has access to all parts of the website and all the download links. One week... it isn’t as cost effective but it sounds good enough for a trial run, maybe he’d grow bored after the first few days, who knows.

He entertains the thought of himself with a creeper moustache for the few minutes it takes to create his profile.

 

Mark forcefully forgets about the site for a whole day and actually goes out with his friends for way too much pizza before his curiosity strikes with a vengeance. He checks all doors, closes his windows and their curtains, resolutely doesn’t remove a single article of clothing, and with the precision of a rather anxious sexually frustrated college student types in his e-mail and password.

He goes to the actors’ page first, better start with what he knows. It has a cute layout: on one side, a map of Europe and on the other headshot photos of all the men, that way if you hover over a certain part of the map the actors from that area are highlighted and if you hover over an actor their country of origin lights up as well.

One particular Jack McLean gets his attention.

His profile picture is a tasteful shot of him smiling widely. His eyes are crinkling and his teeth look a bit crooked, but somehow it seems to suit him.

Once Mark clicks through to Jack’s profile he finds a short introduction text and a collection of pictures with links to their respective galleries on the photoshoot area of the site. It is a little tough to know for sure due to their size, but they appear to be a little on the explicit side. Mark decides to start by reading the intro text.

_JACK MCLEAN describes himself as a nerdy Irishman who despite what the stereotypes dictate would rather have a nice cup of coffee than a pint of Guinness._

Oh, so far so normal. It almost sounds like a dating profile.

_Jack is edgy, lean, and a tad on the hairy side, a switch leaning more towards the bottom. Get ready for a lot of energy and loud noises when fucking his sweet perky ass, do not be fooled by the big baby blues he can take a big dick like a pro while cursing like a sailor._

Aaaand back to creepy.

He scrolls down...

There are quite a few full length videos to choose from, the latest being dated exactly three weeks ago, titled: “Santino and Jack Get Together”. Mark decides to watch that one first.

There is a quick establishing shot of the room where the action will take place. It is a morning scene, as evidenced by the brightness coming from a large open window; the lighting is very soft and intimate, and it matches the light colors of the furniture and walls. There is a big double bed with a heavy looking wooden headboard; soft cotton sheets of a light blue color, and right in the middle of the small mountain of soft pillows sit two men kissing each other very gently.

Mark isn’t hard, not yet anyway, he is still a little too guarded and jittery to truly relax enough to get himself there. So far he feels like he is intruding a little on a couple’s intimate moment, not at all what he was expecting from a porn video.

Jack has changed quite a lot between the first video he saw and the one that is currently playing. He has a shock of green dyed hair and a longer haircut. Mark wonders briefly how it would feel like to tug at it. Jack is barefoot, but still has his jeans and a light grey t-shirt. His arms wrapped around his partner’s neck tugging him more firmly into the kiss.

The man currently sharing kisses with Jack has dark brown skin, it looks quite warm compared to the paleness of everything else in the room. Jack runs his fingers through tight black curls, just long enough to thread fingers through but not to get a solid grip. The man lets out a soft sigh and caresses Jack’s body underneath the gray shirt, lifting it a little to reveal a narrow waist and just a peek of the elastic waistband of Jack’s underwear.

For some reason, as if in a flash, the kiss grows a lot more heated, and soon enough the both of them are rising to their knees and slotting their hips together to start an agonizingly slow grind. The camera shifts angles and does a slow sweep up their bodies zoomed in enough to notice the details of their heaving chests. Santino finally takes off his and Jack’s shirts and immediately lets go of Jack's lips to latch onto one of his nipples. With his mouth now free Jack blurts out a surprisingly loud moan and bites his own kiss bruised lips soon after, almost as if trying to keep his loudness under control.

That one exclamation triggered something in Mark’s body, a shiver shot through his spine and suddenly he paid double the attention to try and catch any other sounds Jack made.

In the next scene Jack is now dressed only in his tight grey underwear laid belly down flat on the bed, Santino is straddling his legs and is now completely nude with his arms boxing Jack in. He lowers his hips and drags his erection through the cotton of Jack’s underwear and they both moan in unison, Jack’s voice a little muffled on the bedcovers.

The camera changes angles again, this time over Santino’s shoulder, showing the perfect POV shot of what it would be like to pin the other man to the bed.

Mark pauses the video.

He takes a deep breath, letting his head fall back and his eyes fall shut.

He pictures having Jack under him, sweeping his hands down those pale freckled shoulders, gripping his narrow waist, tugging him by the hair till he has to support his upper body with his forearms to escape the sting.

Mark exhales slowly.

He imagines how his own cock would look resting on that grey cotton, precum staining the fabric beneath him, how he would fit snugly between those cheeks. He’d fit his fingers right under that elastic band and tug it up, releasing it to snap back onto Jack’s skin. Would he jump and be startled? Would he struggle against Mark’s weight? He fantasizes about peeling off that underwear bit by bit, can almost feel the soft skin under his fingers as he spreads those cheeks apart to peek at the tight pink hole hiding in between.

Mark can feel his blood pulsing and a slight pressure building up on his crotch. He pops open the button of his jeans and resumes watching the video.

“Oh, oh! ‘Tino, oh… shiiiieeet” Jack is grunting trough his teeth, eyes screwed shut. “Fuck me, oooh, fuck me right there.” Santino has three fingers knuckle deep in Jack’s ass and is wriggling them and thrusting them slowly in and out, following the cadence of Jack’s moans, but Jack is very obviously not satisfied with the rhythm. He is wiggling and circling his hips on the bed, almost bucking Santino off of him.

The camera moves again, this time over Jack’s shoulder, showing off Santino’s smooth body and boyish face. He has his free hand wrapped around his dick, just pumping slowly in time with his fingers, mouth open and gasping soundlessly. He pulls Jack up by the hips until Jack has his ass up and his face between folded arms. Santino lines up against Jack’s entrance and pushes inside slowly, as soon as the head pops in Santino’s eyes roll back and he lets out a loud moan.

Mark has his pants open, hands stuffed inside his boxers, just squeezing firmly on the base of his cock for now, just squeezing and teasing himself. He does one full stroke, just to hype himself up, a jolt of pleasure making him curl his toes inside the shoes he still hasn’t taken off.

The scenes quickly escalates. The men on the screen are well synchronized and passionate, thrusting at a quick pace as if all the slow fucking in the beginning broke into the desperation for orgasm. Santino has his head thrown back, hands roaming the body underneath him, tugging at hips that are too slick with perspiration to get a good grip, his forceful thrusts almost bouncing Jack up the bed, causing his flesh to jiggle in a hypnotizing way. Jack has his left hand gripping the bed covers, almost tugging it completely off the bed frame, and his right hand between his legs, switching between jerking off fast and squeezing and tugging his balls, trying not to come too quickly.

Jack’s moans are now almost yells. His spine is curving, his toes curl on the bed and he suddenly bounces his hips back _hard_ , fucking himself in his desperation. His green hair is messy and disheveled. The camera zooms into his face: open mouth and red cheeks, his eyes are wide and startlingly blue. His voice cracks for an instant and a shudder runs through his whole body.

Quite a mouth-watering orgasm.

The other man keeps up his thrusting for a little while, but pulls out and jacks off over Jack’s pliant body, splattering cum all over his lower back and plush ass. Truly delicious. The screen fades to black and displays the title of the video and the name of the actors before fading back to the company’s logo.

Mark goes back, finds the last part were the camera pans over Jack’s marked body.

Mark pushes his chair back, spreads his legs, and props his feet on the ground. He circles his shaft with his left hand and covers the head with the right, pumping and squeezing the length of his cock and circling and teasing the head. After so much time teasing himself, just the thought, just the fantasy of being able to cum on Jack’s body, cover him in his semen, get him wet and dirty and branded after being used… the idea of being able to make him cum so hard he loses his voice from screaming… Mark grunts, hips lifting up from his chair to fuck his hands. He imagines Jack’s body tightening up in orgasm and wringing him dry, milking him for all he’s got.

After the best orgasm he’s had in a while, Mark really regrets not taking off his clothes before sitting down to watch the video.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey thanks for reading, I hope you liked it! Once again it might be 2 weeks till the next chapter; it will probably be centered around Jack this time. See you next time!


	3. Low and Wet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's work life and struggles with shower scenes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are, a little over my two week schedule, I had to take 5 tests this Saturday after waking up at 05:30 and after the tests I had to go to my internship, college life sucks and no one can tell me otherwise.
> 
> To make up for the delay here are almost 3k words of Jack. Don't worry Mark will show up again soon.
> 
> Oh yeah, we are almost at 100 kudos and way over 1k hits, I am super happy!
> 
> Once again, English is not my first language so if you find any grammar mistakes hit me up so I can fix it.

If there is one thing Jack hates about his job it's shower scenes; fuck shower scenes, man. His day was going to be long and tiring today. Besides the usual recording, the behind the scenes team was there as well, so Jack won’t have a chance of resting between takes, even worse: he had a pain in the ass for a co-star and an egotistical tool for a director, and after all of that was finished, he still had a meeting with his manager.

They were filming in one of the big studios, being part of an European centered company meant that they had a lot of small places sprinkled over a few countries which mostly meant Jack had to travel for work once a month at most. At least the second largest set they had was actually fairly close to his home in Ireland (part of the reason why he signed up with them on the first place,) just half an hour away by car, so thankfully today he didn't have jetlag to contribute to his shitty mood.

"So, we're going for that scene boy angle for this one?" Jack was getting dolled up and ready, taking sips of coffee between the pokes and prodding from the beautician in charge. He had started his day as any recording day: waking up early, having a light breakfast and exercising to get his blood pumping.

"Well, you do look adorable with your green hair and guyliner." The guy doing his hair and makeup smiled. He was very cute and blonde and buff, and was meticulously applying goopy waterproof make-up on his face, "One of your best decisions in life; the green really suits you." Call it tradition, but for some reason flirting with the makeup crew was always a fun part of the process.

"Tell that to my manager. He almost ripped my head off when he saw it for the first time, ETB too, they were really pissy about repackaging me as a 'edgy rebel'. For focks sake, I did it for charity and kept it cause it looked cool!"

"Yeah yeah, you look like lime jelly. Now go put on those ripped jeans, they want to film you ripping off your clothes before getting in the shower." Jack was kicked out of the chair with a slap to the ass. Cheeky, cheeky beautician.

The BTS crew interrupted him in the process of bending over to tug his pants on, probably getting a nice shot of his ass at the same time.

"And how is our resident pot of gold today?" The man holding the camera asked.

Jack rolled his eyes and put on an exaggerated leprechaun accent, "Top o’ da mornin’ to ya, sheamrocks, reainbow, loucky chaerms, hoyty toyty!" Is it racism if it is against your own kind?

"Alright, Jack, tell us a little about what's in the schedule."

"Oh, I don't like giving spoilers!" Jack smirked "Nick 'n I are gonna switch, it's goin' to be hot, wet and slippery, and I hope I don't fall flat on my ass."

His partner for the day was Nick, a whiney blonde boy with an emo look about him and the personality of a wet napkin. Not really Jack's type at all, but he could see why they've picked him. The scene would start with Nick taking a shower and Jack would join in later, so they were already doing a few takes of Nick bathing on his own while Jack finished up make-up.

“There you are, sweetie! Get your sweet butt on the mark on the floor. We’re gonna get a few shots of you looking at Nicky, and then you can start stripping,” The director was in a good mood, even if he sounded a little condescending.

After some repetition of removing clothes and putting them on again for the camera, the true glamorous movie magic started. Shower scenes are the worst: the camera crew crowded the bathroom; doors and windows open to allow easy access, the water was never warm, just so it wouldn't fog the lenses; depending on the director the water was even cold to allow for perky nipples at all moments. Oh, how he cherished his teenage years, when he watched porn with wide eyed horniness and no criticism, none the wiser to the struggles of the everyday pornstar.

Jack was finally allowed to enter the shower after putting on flip-flops to make sure he wouldn’t slip and bash his head open on the tiles, and greeted Nick according to his script.

“Hey there, mind if I join you?” Jack put on his best flirty smile and embraced his partner from behind, trying not to jump at the water temperature as it finally drenched him.

Nick grabbed at his body and slammed him against the tiled wall. The cold shock pulled a gasp from Jack that he hoped could be confused with an exclamation of pleasure. He waited until the cameraman got closer to get a nice shot of his body and started kissing Nick full on the lips.

“Alright, boys, can we try the kiss a couple more times? We need to be turned on by this, not bored to tears!” shouted the director from where he was sitting. Now started the nitpicking. In Jack’s opinion, the less the directors tried to control every detail the better the video looked. Spontaneity might be difficult to accomplish in a room full of people recording your every move, but it looks so much hotter when you can just get lost in the moment and just enjoy the other person with all your attention.

Nick dropped down to his knees and started sucking him off. Jack was nowhere near fully hard, and felt a little guilty about it. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall, time to get in the zone. Jack focused on the feeling of the water beating down his body, he thought about someone else, nothing too specific, someone muscular enough to pick him up and pin him down. He pictured strong hands, holding his hips against the wall. He spread his legs farther apart and felt fingers creeping up his thighs.

He thought about getting fucked, pressed up against the wall with no leverage to move, totally controlled by someone. Jack thought about being used, about the anticipation before the first breach into his hole, the stretching and fullness, the desperation to go deeper and faster, the pressure rising every time his prostate was stimulated. Oh god, he wanted a thick cock deep inside him so bad.

“Sweetie? Jack, honey, snap out of it, let’s focus here.”

The interruption startled Jack out of his fantasy.

“Wh-what?” His chest was heaving, words coming out more as gasps than sound.

“You’re being too loud, let’s not be cheesy alright, keep it down a bit.” The director was not amused.

“I didn’t realize it, sorry.” Jack said, and the director snorted sarcastically, “Wait, do ya think I’m faking it? Dude I can’t help it, I’m loud!”

“I’m sure you are, sweetie, but let’s keep it classy. Take a break everyone, stretch out those booties and when we get back we can continue with the anal.”

Jack could barely contain his frustration. He burst out of the set, quickly snatching up his robe and toiletry bag before shutting himself up in the private room the studio provided him. He threw himself down on the sofa placed against the wall and shouted out a quite girly scream, and bolted straight down to the ground when his head hit not the cushion, but instead a person’s lap.

“Oh my god, you should have seen your face!” He was greeted by the laughing handsome face of Santino.

“’Tino! The fuck ‘re you doin’ here? You scared the crap outta’ me!”

“I got a scene with Carter later today, heard you were here, thought I’d drop by and say hello.”

“I gotta prep now, ‘Tino, do you mind?” Jack stated. He grabbed the package of lube and showed it to Santino, they were comfortable enough around each other that this didn’t feel awkward. Having this kind of job wasn’t very conductive to maintaining friendships, but Santino was a nice guy, they even hook up from time to time.

“Nah, go ahead.”

“Then budge over, handsome.” Jack sat down on the other side of the couch with his legs on the cushion spread wide apart. He flicked open the cap of the lube and set himself up to do a thorough stretching. “So how’s the misses?”

“Oh, you know… going on the fifth month of pregnancy now, so she is over the morning sickness, but just getting started on the back pain.” Santino turned to look at him, biting his lips and running his fingers through his short curly black hair. “You look really good like that, you know?”

“Oh, I _know_ ,” that startled a giggle out of the dark-skinned man, “So, did she like our video?” Jack pushed in a second finger spreading them apart inside himself and holding that position for a while to get himself used to the stretch.

“Jo loved it! She was really impressed you got my eyes to roll back, and she told me your hair looked cute.” Jack flushed; he still got embarrassed over flattery. Jack covered his face and stuffed another finger inside himself, focusing instead on how soft and warm he felt inside. He was so slick now, it would feel amazing on whoever got to fuck him. He stopped for a second to sigh; he really should save all the excitement for the scene. Jack slowly removed his fingers and shivered at the wet sound the movement made.

“Hah, I know that sigh. Getting into it, are you?” Santino bent his head a bit, trying to peek under his robe.

“Keep your eyes to yerself, ya’ fucker.” Jack giggled.

“Yeah yeah, I know. Hey did I tell you about my next gig?” Jack shook his head no, “My manager got me and Jo a contact in the fetish side of things, and we are going to do a video together while she still has the bump. Gonna help pay for the baby stuff… my first straight porn!” Jack stood up and walked across the small room, he hesitated for a moment before opening up the mini-fridge on the corner and picking up a bottle of water.

“Jo’s first porn ever… is she actually ok with this?” He asked and took a big sip of his water.

“She is actually kind of excited and anxious. She always wanted to share this part of my life, but you can guess it’s probably going to be nerve wracking to share this intimacy on screen.”

Jack shook his head in disbelief. “How the hell do you keep a steady relationship while working the industry?” Santino let out a burst of laughter from the couch, but Jack kept his expression guarded, “I mean it, if I didn’t know the two of you, I’d call bullshit.”

“You just have to find the right person, it’s not rocket science.” Santino seemed a bit more sympathetic. He stood up and placed his hand on Jack’s shoulder, “And you might want to try dating outside of the industry some ti-”

“Oh yes, I’m sure there’s a lot of guys thrilled to see their boyfriend get fucked by other men. If they’re not from the industry they just don’t get it, ‘Tino, I’ve told you already.”

“Alright, mister, I give up on your case. Don’t ask me to set you up again.” Jack felt a sharp sting on his bottom and turned around fast to see his friend with both hands up, feigning innocence.

“Did you just slap my ass?”

“Yup.”

“You suck,” Santino laughed at him, “I’m leaving to go get fucked, you should do the same.” Jack sauntered out the door with a snap of his hips. He could faintly hear the response from the corridor.

“Ok then, see you later, you mean Irish potato!”

 

 

  
The problem with Nick, Jack thought to himself, is that he can’t top worth a damn.

Jack had his face pressed against the tiles and was absolutely bored out of his mind. Nick didn’t push all the way in, and was nowhere near his prostate; his rhythm was off, never a constant; his thrusts too smooth and packing no punch in them to make Jack lose his breath; the position of his hips was all wrong, and he was doing that weird body tilt towards the camera so the porn would look pretty and showcase Nick’s body.

Well, if the director was worried about him being loud, he certainly had no problems with Jack right now. It was a struggle to even keep his erection, and no fantasy could get him away from this lousy lay.

It felt wonderfully satisfying to change things up once it was his turn to top. He pinned Nick against the tiles, holding one of his legs up on the crook of his elbows. The position was highly unstable, but it was so delicious to see that pompous face melt into a grimace of overstimulation. Nick was red in the face and tearing up a little, his open mouth this close to drooling, but not quite there yet.

It wasn’t something he did often; topping felt nice and all, and he got off in making his partners feel amazing, but god, he missed having something inside him, maybe even a guy right now recording with him, being the middle of a sandwich getting pleasure from both ends… he thought of a muscular tall guy, pressing him against another warm body, every thrust inside his ass pushing him up to fuck someone else.

Jack moaned out his orgasm long and loud, head tilted towards heaven.

He dropped down to his knees, and before anyone could call the end of the scene to decide how Nick would get off artistically for the camera, Jack grabbed a hold of Nick’s erection and pumped his hands up and down with all his might. Jack opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out, just as he touched the tip of the glans he heard a gasp and suddenly the shower was much wetter than before.

 

 

  
He got an earful from the director, of course, but the BTS crew was there laughing with him and recording him fooling around with a face full of cum, dripping everywhere, jumping around trying to catch it in his mouth demanding to “Come down my face”.

Jack felt like a troublemaker brat.

It’s awesome.

 

 

  
“So, Sean, what do you think about daddies?”

His manager, a short, stocky, graying man in his 50’s looked at him with such an open and honest face it was impossible to take him seriously.

“Uh… depends on the daddy… why are you asking me this? Are you hitting on me?” He grinned and gave his manager an over the top saucy wink.

“Of course not, you dumbass.” The man grabbed a small stack of papers and reached over his office desk to slap the young man upside the head with it. “I just got an e-mail from the guys at Red Leopard studio, they want you.”

“Red Leopard? Aren’t they from America?”

“They sure are, and they want you for two gigs: a scene in a long movie, and a 25 minutes scene with one of their Daddies.”

Jack was shocked, he scooted forward on the large swivel chair, “Are you actually serious? They are a big company.”

“I’m dead serious, they just sent me three scripts. You need to get your sweet ass to Los Angeles to audition, they need to decide which part is best for you.”

Jack’s face fell. Of course, it sounded too good to be true.

“I don’t do casting couches, Steve.”

“I’m a manager, not a pimp, damn it! It is an actual casting, you fucker, have some trust in me.”

Jack scratched at the back of his head, now he felt really embarrassed. “My bad.”

“You are going to need at least two whole months in America, should be just enough to get you through all the recordings. Now, I want you to think very carefully about the contracts,” His manager gave him a warm smile, “This could be a great step for your career.”

A bubble of anxiety and excitement climbed its way up Jack’s body, in a bust of energy he giggled and said perhaps too loudly:

“I’ll think about it!”


	4. Chemistry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack likes America more than he expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Welcome to my most sfw chapter yet, I'm a randy sucker so it is definetly not fully sfw but oh well.  
> We passed 150 kudos holy crap! I am so happy you guys have no idea, I was not expecting this much at all!
> 
> Once again I still don't have a beta and English is not my first language so if you catch any typos you can hit me up and I'll fix them, ok!  
> Next chapter should be up in about 2 weeks.
> 
> Thank you so much! Enjoy the chapter!

America is an experience.  
  
It’s loud and warm, everyone seems to be in a rush, there are cars everywhere and more frozen yogurt shops than Jack expected. Overall he enjoys it immensely with the full knowledge that it is always one step away from overwhelming.  
  
He is staying for two months, the longest he’s ever been away from home. His manager suggested that he rented a house during his stay; it is way cheaper than sleeping at a nice hotel but with more space and privacy. The American studio gave a few suggestions of cheap places that were furnished and would accept a two-month contract, and Jack ended up in a small apartment in an area popular for housing many college students. The kitchen is tiny and the bathroom has a leaky faucet, but in the living room there is a big overstuffed blue couch comfortable to the point where Jack has a difficult time scooping himself out of it to go to sleep on the bed every night.  
  
The wi-fi is shit though.  
  
Not really shit. Just… unreliable.  
  
When it works, it works wonders. It’s fast and amazing. Jack couldn’t exactly bring his desktop computer with him, so his laptop would have to suffice for the time. At least when the internet was working he could download some games off steam to pass the time. But maybe he should be more careful with his battery. Jack had to go to the studio this morning and now, at the end of the afternoon, his laptop is at 17%.  
  
Jack goes through three different coffee shops until he finds one that offers both free wi-fi and power outlets for their clients.  
  
The place isn’t that stereotypical hipster nest, it has ugly chairs and lilac walls, some upholstered booths lining the wall, a glass display of snacks and noisy espresso machines. The barista in charge points him at the two tables that have power outlets near them, one in each side of the room.  
  
They are both occupied at the moment. The one on the left is being used by a business lady: the whole messy bun, pantsuit, smartphone and enormous coffee mug. She isn’t currently using the outlet so it would probably be a good idea to go over there and ask to sit together.  
  
But then Jack looks over to the table on the right.  
  
And there, on the table, is a really handsome guy, just… wow.  
  
Call him shallow all you want but if he has to suffer through bad wi-fi, the least he could have is some eye-candy. The guy is tan, has really broad shoulders and very nice muscles stretching out his t-shirt, he’s wearing glasses and is hunched over a bunch of printed out papers. The guy’s phone was connected to the plug on the wall and is apparently playing some sort of video the guy is using only one earphone to hear.  
  
Jack approaches the table with a charming smile and hopes for the best.

 

 

  
It is a nice day, all things considered. Mark woke up late because he had forgotten to charge his phone during the night. He arrived just in time for his class, and his teacher had given them some new articles to read. At least now he just walked in to his favorite coffee shop the and got to mooch their electricity and sweet sweet internet. He gets himself a yummy foamy latte and puts on a Game Grumps playlist to use as background noise.  
  
He looks up from his papers when he sees someone standing in front of his table and is thoroughly confused.   
  
It's Jack.  
  
_The_ Jack.  
  
No, there is no way.  
  
The guy in front of him is unfairly attractive, with big and bright blue eyes and a pink mouth. He’s wearing a thin cotton shirt, a grey hat, and a lot of colorful bracelets.  
  
"Hi, I really need to charge my laptop. Do you mind if I-" Mark stares at the guy. He’s aware there’s some conversation going on, but the words pass right through him and don't stick.  
  
"You are _very_ attractive."  
  
The guy stops talking in the middle of his sentence. Wait. Oh no, did he say that out loud?  
  
"Oh god! I'm so sorry I literally have no brain to mouth filter."  
  
The man blushes and starts laughing, ducking his head down. He’s shy, that is adorable. "Uhm, I was planning on charming you till you let me use that outlet over there. I guess you just made my job a lot easier if you swing that way." He bites his lower lip, "You must be really confident in your good looks if you can just flirt with random strangers. Don't you ever get punched in the face?"  
  
"Actually... I'm new to the whole… flirting with guys thing." Mark waves his hand in a vague wiggle he hopes will translate into the meaning he’s looking for.  
  
"Does that mean I get to teach you?" The man winks and Mark's heart does a weird swoop in his chest. "Just kidding, I'm Sean, by the way."  
  
"I'm Mark. You need the outlet, right? I don't know what to say, my phone's still charging…"  
  
"Shit, uhm… how 'bout I charge my computer, and you can connect your phone to it and we solve the whole problem?"  
  
He really shouldn’t do that.  
  
Oh well, Wade is never going to let this go if he doesn’t take this chance, so…  
  
Mark hands over his phone with the gentleness of a person handing out an infant. Sean laughs, getting the joke immediately and following trough cradling the device in his arms. Sean looks down and his eyebrows rise.  
  
“Are you watching Steam Train?” Sean switches between eyeing him suspiciously and looking down to the video that is still rolling.  
  
“You watch the Game Grumps?” Sean doesn’t even need to answer, his smile tells enough for Mark to know that they will have a nice conversation while they wait for everything to charge.

 

 

  
After another latte for Mark, a cup of tea for Sean, and a chocolate chip cookie to share Jack feels amazing.  
  
Mark is a dork.  
  
A hot dork, but a dork nonetheless. Jack wants to sit on his dick and ride him silly. And then talk about games and kick his ass on Rocket League.  
  
Santino will rub it in his face later, but it feels so nice to flirt with someone who’s not in the industry. Mark is the same age as him, they share a lot of hobbies, he looks absolutely edible and is into guys as well. Even better: Mark is as American as they come. Jack is pretty sure he never even heard of such a small European porn company, that is a huge plus!  
  
“Oh af’ter thees scoare I will knock you rieight back to Ireland!” They somehow wound up playing soccer physics, Mark is terrible at it.   
  
“Mark, was that supposed to be an Irish accent?” The man nods without looking away from the screen. “That is the worst Irish accent I’ve ever heard.” They both burst up in giggles and totally lose focus on what they were doing in the game.  
  
Mark’s deep chuckle makes Jack wonder how amazing he would sound moaning.  
  
Jack shakes away that idea just as Mark asks him a question.  
  
“Why are you here anyway, what made you come to the US?”  
  
“Work made me come to the US.”  
  
“Oh, ok, and what do you do for a living?”  
  
“Video… editing… yeah, I edit videos.” Mark doesn’t seem very convinced, Jack probably took way too long to give an answer. Mark is too nice. Jack really wants to spend more time with him: time to change the subject and distract him.

 

 

  
"Holy crap, we've been talking for a while! It's getting’ pretty late… almost dinner time."  
  
The American hums in agreement, but feels a pang of disappointment. He had noticed the time on his now fully charged cellphone, but didn't want to say anything. Looks like this is the end of their exchange, at least he had fun.  
  
"So, do you have anywhere nice where you could invite me to dinner?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, sure... yeah I know a couple of places I could recommend…" Sean is looking at him weird, eyebrows raised almost like he’s expecting something.  
  
The penny drops.  
  
"Waaait a minute! Are you trying to manipulate me into asking you out?" Mark raises an accusatory finger and points it straight at Sean’s face. Sean giggles and snatches at his raised finger batting it out of the way.  
  
"Yeah I am, what are you gonna do 'bout it?" He stares at Mark intently and challengingly, frankly looking really hot for a moment, Mark feels his heart speed up.  
  
"I almost want to ditch you just out of spite, you ass." Mark smiles, still a little flustered, hoping he didn't cross a line with the name calling.   
  
A burst of giggles eases his worries.  
  
Sean ducks his head down and looks up through his lashes. "Oh, come on, you wimp. Have some guts!" Sean places his hand on Mark's biceps and rubs up and down. Mark is barely holding down the urge to flex, which would be showing off too much. "Learn to read the signs, I was all over you."  
  
Mark stills Sean's wrist by entwining his fingers on the many bracelets he wears, smoothing down the thin skin of his wrist and feeling the rapid pulse beneath it.  
  
"Ok then," the American clears his throat and tries again, "Sean, do you want to go out with me? I know a place I can take you to grab a bite to eat."

 

 

  
Mark takes him to a burger place where he worked part-time for a while as a waiter. The tables there are tiny and the portions are big, so it evens out nicely.  
  
When Sean asks for a good suggestion on what he should eat Mark thinks of very impure images, but settles on answering the question properly. After all, those images are very improper to be having on the first date.  
  
Is this even a first date? He isn’t very sure of the protocol when dating guys. This doesn’t seem like a good place to take a girl out, but Sean seems to be enjoying it.  
  
Sean keeps touching his lips with his own fingers, or resting his fork against his lips for way longer than necessary when he gets distracted with their conversation; it is really unfair.  
  
They end up talking about The Last Of Us. They share a lot of opinions, but disagree on a few areas, enough that it keeps the conversation engaging. The conversation strays to family and Mark finds out they have more in common. Sean is a family kind of guy with a really strong bond with his siblings. They share childhood stories and bond over being the baby brothers.  
  
Mark gets a little confused. He is pretty certain this is the same guy he watches get fucked on a regular basis, but out of that context he can barely recognize him. Sean is just a regular dude! A cool, funny, flirty, good looking guy.  
  
They split the bill and walk together to the bus stop joking about horror movie clichés when they pass a streetlamp that is flickering. Sean tries to lowkey ask if Mark would be interested in watching a horror movie with him sometime and Mark is probably too eager to say yes to keep it lowkey and casual. They exchange numbers and that is when Sean’s bus peeks around the corner.  
  
“I guess I’ll… text you?” Mark feels awkward and hovers close not sure if physical contact is okay or not.  
  
“You better fookin’ text me.” Sean kicks his shin lightly, “You dork.”

 

 

  
Mark’s deep chuckle sends a shiver down Jack’s spine that triggers quite a bold move on his part.  
  
Jack fluffs up Mark’s messy hair, gets on his tiptoes and gives his right cheekbone a kiss, just a peck close to his ear. Jack can feel the sharp intake of air from the other man. When he tries to take a step back, he gets tugged back by an arm around his waist. He can feel the warm pressure of Mark’s solid muscular body against him, and the warm touch of a kiss on his temple.  
  
“Sorry.” Mark mumbles, after that moment of intimacy he goes right back to being awkward.  
  
“Don’t be.” Jack is beaming, “See ya soon.” He says and gets in the bus without looking back.

 

 

  
Mark almost floats back to his place he is so elated, and collapses face first into the pillows of his bed. He grinds his hips down humping the mattress a bit. Sean’s soft body fit so perfectly against his, that kiss did things to him. He pictures pressing that man down on his bed, imagines Sean giving him that soft kiss on the cheek just as he presses inside him for the first time, slow and steady, gentle and decadent.  
  
Mark stuffs his hand down his underwear and forms a tight channel to thrust into, He humps down and muffle his moans into the pillows.

 

 

  
At the same time, streets away, Jack spreads his legs apart lying draped across the overstuffed blue couch in his living room. He presses down on his perineum and rubs his right hand against the head of his dick, picturing warm brown eyes and strong arms holding him down.


	5. One-track Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack is horny and struggles with not fucking Mark yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy damn! I keep getting more and more baffled with the reception this fic is getting you are all beautiful and I am so thankful for all the kudos and comments oh wow!
> 
> On other news: Vacation is here and it is glorious!  
> A lot of the comments lately talked about my update schedule and yes, unfortunately while college is going on I will need the 2 weeks period but since my break just started I will be moving it up to 1 week!
> 
> I have also created a sideblog on tumblr for progress updates and headcanons it is still mostly empty but if you want to get snippets it is a nice place to check out! go to rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com .
> 
> Once again: English is not my first language so if you catch any typos hit me up in the comments and I shall fix it!
> 
> Now go enjoy 2,5K words of septiplier goodness.

The studio sends Jack a few files on his e-mail; short profiles on the men that were both available and willing to shoot the 25 minutes scene with him. The studio kept the right of the final choice on who would be his co-star, but Jack still had the power to veto those he didn’t want. Now that he has all the profiles with pictures and preferences of every guy, this whole gig seems way more real.  
  
Jack browses through his options, handsome mature men with strong jaws, circles through all his options over and over again, somehow hoping that the next profile will magically turn into Mark. What would it even read like? Mark will never know about his career if Jack can help it. but oh, how he wishes it was that simple to get together with him.  
  
He goes to the studio for his audition and to meet his director for both scenes, a cool guy, probably a little too young to be a director already. The studio is nice and clean, full of chrome and large windows, way bigger than any European studio Jack has ever visited. He is instructed to go up an elevator and is guided to a private office by a smiling receptionist, in there he finds modern décor, comfortable bright pink office chairs, and the two people who will deal with him today: the director and his P.A., together they go over the overall theme of the long movie.  
  
“So it’s going to be all around an office.” The director shifts around in his seat, gesticulating wildly, “But we’re kinda turning things on its head. I just want to make sure one last time: You’re definitely not reading for scene four? I feel you would be a great fit for it.” His smile is a little too hopeful and makes Jack feel on edge. Scene four is a gangbang: one guy called in to be a party favor for a meeting room full of businessmen.  
  
“Nah, not gonna happen’. Two co-stars are my limit, after that it turns into a cluster fuck.” That pulls a giggle from the guy, “I’m game for the other three, though.”  
  
It is a little awkward. First they take a couple of simple pictures of him against a white background, probably to match up and test how attractive of a couple he would make with any other actor, after that they make the P.A. read the scripts with him, only the spoken lines and set up scenes. It’s pretty detailed, from scene details to emotions to convey, even the sexual positions are pretty mapped out.  
  
The first possible scene is about an intern, the kind that only ends up picking up coffee for other people, but instead of the cliché where the intern would be ordered around, it is more of a game of seduction with one of the lower staff on the office, ending up in an illicit encounter by the copy machines.  
  
The second scene is all about an overworked receptionist and the big revenge on his boss, quite a nice twist in the whole sex-cretary trope.  
  
The third option is an investor/client and a businessman trying his absolute best to convince him to put his money in the company, or in this case almost worshipping the investor’s body. It is Jack’s big favorite; he wants to be treated nicely and have all the control once in a while when being fucked; you don’t necessarily need to be submissive to be on the bottom.  
  
Jack is by no means Oscar material, but as a porn star he’s a pretty decent actor; He likes flirting, he has some experience with acting out fantasies for the camera already and can actually memorize a script to save his life. The director was very giddy about his audition and promised to get in contact with him once they actually decide which part he got and who will be his co-star.  
  
They have a little chat after all of that where Jack tells the director which actors he had crossed out for his long scene. That scene will be very open, very much like what Jack’s already used to do on ETB, more reliant on natural chemistry than actual scripting, the only difference being that it is a bit more fetish inclined. If he so wishes, Jack can choose a “fantasy” or “kink” to explore in the scene, so long as it still fits the Daddy theme. Nothing really comes to mind straight away, but it’s okay. The P.A. says they’ll be in contact to set up a brunch with all his possible co-stars, saying it’s less formal than a meeting and will help the decision, seeing who has a natural dynamic with him. For a brief moment Jack considers asking if he can invite Mark, but holds his tongue before saying anything stupid.  
  
Speaking of the devil, just as he is taking a cab back to his rented apartment, Jack gets a new text from Mark. As soon as Jack had woken up on the day after their date he checked his phone only to find four new text messages from Mark.  
  
06:04  
Hey, Sean, it’s Mark, how’s your day going?  
06:07  
Mark from the coffee shop.  
06:40  
Sorry about not waiting a full day to text, I really liked talking to you.  
07:10  
You probably think I’m desperate, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pressure you, I’ll stop texting now.  
  
Jack had woken up a little over 9AM that morning and as soon as he felt coherent enough to respond he sent a text back apologizing profusely about not answering sooner, he actually felt really touched that Mark had liked him so much as to want to get in contact right away. He got five exclamation points for a response, and then they continued on chatting, going right back to their effortless conversation. They set up a second date as soon as possible, just four days after their first.

 

 

  
They are still texting when Jack gets back to his place, still talking as he grabs his trusted tube of lubricant and makes himself nice and comfortable. He does not actually start masturbating before cutting off the conversation with Mark, though, he still has a little bit of shame left.  
  
He tries to fantasize about his long scene for Red Leopard and figure out what kink he wants to play around with, but it doesn’t quite work out as he wished since Mark keeps popping up in his mind. He should have brought a sex toy with him for the trip… too late for that now anyway. Jack takes his sweet time, gets relaxed and open, sits up against the pillows on his headboard, and rides his fingers down, perversely itching to send the American all kinds of illicit pictures. Mark did say he was still new to the whole “dating guys” thing, and Jack really wants to show him all the benefits of it. For now, though, Jack grinds down and rubs his prostate until his wrist is cramping up and his dick is dripping before he even touches it once.  
  
Jack teases his ass so much he cums hard enough to be shaking when he is still spreading his slick around his member.

 

 

  
On times like these Mark wishes for a gay friend.  
  
He’s at home with Bob who is slowly draining his soda supplies and giving him horrible advice; Wade was busy with date night with his girl, and wasn’t able to show up for moral support.  
  
“He thought you looked good enough when you were greasy and sleep-deprived.”  
  
“Yeah, I’m aware, but I wanna look nice for him!” Mark is barefoot, fresh from a shower, on his nicest pair of jeans and agonizing over his clothing options.  
  
“No, I mean more like: he obviously already has low standards if he finds _you_ attractive. You probably don’t even need to try.” Mark pouts and glares as Bob sips his drink calmly.  
  
“You’re mean.” Bob just laughs.  
  
After dodging Bob’s _great advice_ Mark trims his scruff a little, puts on some cologne and wears his lucky flannel shirt. He doesn’t feel overdressed, and according to Bob, looks about halfway decent for a change. Better than going nude.  


 

 

Sean looks gorgeous, he is in dark wash tight jeans that make his legs look mile long, he’s wearing a teal shirt that makes his blue eyes almost glow. His smile is what makes him all the more striking, though, beaming with a giddy kind of joy that Mark can already feel himself reflecting.  
  
Mark wants to sweep him off his feet.  
  
Just pick him up in his arms and kiss him.  
  
Once they are standing face to face Mark doesn’t know what to do, unsure if he should offer a handshake, go in for a hug or swallow his nerves and give him a kiss. He shifts about shuffling his feet and does absolutely nothing, just looks down on those gorgeous blue eyes and smiles shyly.  
  
Sean decides for him. He leans close and rests his forehead against Mark’s chest, throwing his left arm around Mark’s shoulders. Mark feels himself relax against his hold and gently encircles Sean’s waist.  
  
“You smell real fucking good.” Mark can almost feel the words being mumbled against him and squeezes Sean’s soft body just a little harder for it.

 

 

  
The movie they pick is some kind of trashy horror flick; it’s almost out of the theaters already, so when they walk into the session they have about five other moviegoers sharing the room with them. They pick a nice spot a bit further back in the room but smack dab in the center of the screen, away from all other people, almost a little private bubble of their own.  
  
Once Mark sits down and gets himself comfortable Jack squeezes past his knees in the aisle a little awkwardly.  
  
“Hey, careful there!” Mark chuckles and traps Jack between his knees, stopping any progress he was attempting, “You are practically sitting on my lap.”  
  
Jack looks at him with challenge burning in his eyes, “I’ll have you know that I can give a mean lap dance,” he states confidently.  
  
“Oh, yeah? Prove it.” Mark smirks back at him and lets his legs fall open, sitting quite debauchedly on the cushioned chair.  
  
God knows Jack can never back away from a challenge. He turns his back to Mark and starts singing out a cheesy sexy 80’s porno tune, circling his hips slowly to the beat lowering his hips to sit by the edge of the American’s seat right between his open legs. He leans back and rests against Mark’s chest letting all his weight press down against Mark, still dancing to the beat he’s humming, barely making contact with the other’s crotch. Jack feels Mark inhale sharply next to his ear and rubs down purposefully harder for a while before standing up abruptly.  
  
Jack turns around still making his own soundtrack, he snaps his hips with a saucy wink and places his hands on either side of the armrests, effectively boxing Mark into his seat. He places his knee between Mark’s legs and looks down to see his handsome face all flustered with his mouth hanging open a little.  
  
Jack immediately breaks character and exaggeratedly flails his arms around, dancing like a crazed lunatic. Once Mark snaps out of his stupor he joins in and dances around just as weird, maybe even more than him. After almost getting elbowed in the face, Jack finally collapses down on the chair next to Mark, both of them laughing out their silliness.

 

 

  
The movie is terrible.  
  
The acting is super over the top, the jump scares are silly and the premise is just soooo cheesy. Twenty minutes in and they are just laughing, making fun of every stupid line and cliché action on the screen. Mark was hoping Sean would pretend to be scared and cuddle up against him, but he has to admit that this is much better; they are leaning close against one another, whispering silly snarky comments and giggling.  
  
In an instant they can see the light of a flashlight getting closer to their location. They both bite their lips, putting on their best poker faces. Sean grabs his hand and squeezes, leaning his head on Mark’s shoulder.  
  
As soon as the light starts backing away they both lose their shit and go back to laughing, this time a little quieter to avoid the rage of the other moviegoers. Mark turns to look at his date, and with the bluish light from the screen reflecting on Sean’s dyed hair and his sparking eyes, Mark feels a sharp pang of want, for once swallowing his insecurities and leaning forward to act on it.  
  
Sean’s lips feel soft, even better than Mark had imagined; Sean’s facial hair tickles a bit against his own. Mark tilts his head a bit more and places his hand by Sean’s neck. He feels a sigh against his lips and realizes that Sean opened his mouth a little, fitting even more perfectly against him. Mark licks into his mouth, wet, slow and soft. Sean tastes of lemon soda and buttered popcorn, and Mark has a hard time pacing himself. He barely holds himself back and keeps the kiss delicate and sweet.

 

 

  
They spend the rest of the movie switching between kissing and joking about the scenes. If you gave Jack a quiz about what happened plot wise he wouldn’t even know where to start. It feels so good. Just a normal date with an adorable guy. Jack has to hold himself in check; he really doesn’t want to screw this up. It isn’t exactly normal to put out on the second date, but Mark is making him so happy, Jack wants to kneel down right then and there to suck him off. He kisses Mark with all his might to compensate. Nipping at the tip of Mark’s tongue is nowhere near a consolation prize, but it satiates him for the time being.  
  
The credits roll by and people start to exit the theater. Mark stands up and turns to look at him, Jack smiles and puts his hands up, “Help me up?”

 

 

  
Mark feels very cheeky, and after that lap dance, he figures some revenge is in order. Mark bends down, hugs Sean as tight as he can, and just raises him up and out of his chair until his toes aren’t even touching the ground anymore. Mark feels Sean’s gasp even before he hears it and almost misses the question whispered in his ear.  
  
“Can you _actually_ pick me up?” Sean looks bewildered and his eyes are glassy. His pink kiss-bruised mouth almost distracts Mark all over again. Instead of losing his focus, Mark keeps eye contact, noticing every heavy breath. He dips down once again, wraps his arms just under Sean’s bottom, and pulls him up again, his soft body flush against the American’s chest.

 

 

  
Jack instinctually wraps his legs around Mark and squeezes. He runs his hands up Mark’s arms, they are veiny with the effort. He runs both hands through Mark’s messy hair tugs slightly, kissing him softly on the lips.  
  
Jack feels all the points of contact of their bodies and lusts for the day he will actually be able to have it all with no clothes in between. He climbs down gingerly from Mark’s arms before anyone notices a guy climbing a man like a tree in public.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder to go check out rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com for progress updates and snippets! hope you liked the chapter!


	6. Normal Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack contemplates friendships and finally gets some alone time with Mark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! So many kudos and comments I am so super flattered! Thank you so much for the wonderful support.
> 
> Just a reminder English is not my first language, hit me up in the comments if you find a typo and I will fix it as soon as possible. Next chapter should be out in one week!
> 
> For snippets and progress updates be sure to check out my tumblr: rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com .
> 
> Believe it or not I tried to keep this chapter short, whelp enjoy these 2.9 K words!! 8D

Mark stares at the website with a vague sense of deja vu, he has been in a situation before where he spent longer staring at the page than actually absorbing any of its contents. He has a video playing, one of Jack's most recent ones, but the image of Sean's beautiful smile when they met for their second date keeps superimposing itself on top of it. Deep down Mark knows they are the same person, for fucks sake, they look and sound exactly the same! Sean was even wearing the same bracelets he wore as Jack when they first met.  
  
But that's the thing isn't it? In the videos he is Jack; if he was comfortable with people knowing about this part of his life why would he introduce himself as Sean the video editor? Mark can respect that; just treating him with no expectations based on his professional life, just a cool guy he met at a coffee shop. If Sean felt the need to lie about it, Mark will let him lie for as long as he wanted, and maybe one day the Irishman will reveal himself.  
  
He has refrained from telling any of his friends about this coincidental meeting, unsure if they would treat Sean any different after knowing what he does for a living, and sure, he misses having someone to talk to about this cluster fuck, but... better safe than sorry.  
  
They are most certainly dating now; they've kissed and even scheduled a third date. That means Mark should probably feel different, maybe even jealous, when watching Sean getting fucked by men much hotter than himself.   
  
But he really doesn't.   
  
Is he broken or something?  
  
Maybe because he sees him as two different people...  
  
Jack: the sexy, charismatic man he wanted to have sex with; and Sean: the sexy... charismatic man... he wants to have sex with.  
  
...  
  
Well you know what? He doesn't even know anymore. Jack looks gorgeous when having sex, and Mark wants Sean to look just as good having sex with him, or hell, even with other people if he can watch it happen.  
  
Maybe this is what being a voyeur feels like...  
  
For now, Jack's moans serve as background noise while Mark pictures Sean waking up next to him on the morning after, sexed out and sleep warm, wearing one of Mark’s old shirts for pajamas. He wants to cuddle up behind Sean, spooning and teasing him under the covers until he could push his dick into the space between Sean's thighs, because he would still be too sore from the previous night's activities. Mark thrusts his hips forward, fucking slowly into his fist; he feels his toes curling up and a shiver running through his spine. Then after he’s done and marked Sean all over with his cum, he wants to burrow down under the covers and suck Sean off till he’s sobbing… and after all of that, cuddle up again and drift right back to sleep in the morning sun.  
  
Call him a romantic, but maybe this voyeur thing isn't so bad after all.

 

 

  
The meeting is in a cute little restaurant called Lemony, all nature themed and bright. All the tables have tiny flower pots with cute arrangements, everything is rustic and wood. They sit in a patio area in the back, next to a wall covered in mismatched tiles of all colors. Jack sits in the middle, the four guys he is getting to know today sit all around him, David and Troy across from him, and Josh B. and Josh S. on either side.  
  
It feels nice, almost like a cross between a blind date and a happy-hour hangout. The men are clearly already friends, and work hard to welcome Jack in their little group.  
  
Josh S. starts by trying to fix the name issue, "You know, just so it's not super confusing, you can call me by my real name today. Just call me Nathan." Pausing for a second to pull a long sip from his mug of tea, "Usually he is the one to do it, but it would just make things worse." And points in the vague direction of Josh B.  
  
"Uhhm, ok then... Why would it be more confusin'?" Jack turns to stare with a puzzled expression.  
  
"My actual name is Jack too. Well... actually it's Jackson, but you can see how that's not exactly fixing our problem." Josh B. smiles a little shyly.  
  
Jack stops toying with the edges of his napkin, and clarifies raising his hand, "Oh wait, my name isn't actually Jack! I'm Sean, the nickname just kinda stuck, ya know, even off-camera."  
  
Across the table there is a snort of laughter, "You are just a bunch of pussies! Nah, why would you use different names? People are always going to recognize you. The sooner you accept that, the better you will feel about yourself." David is the oldest in the group and is probably also trying to be the wisest, too bad Jack doesn't respond well to condescension.  
  
"Well, that is just impractical. What if one of my old classmates tries to look me up online? Just gonna find a load of dicks and that's it?" Troy shoots him down almost immediately, crossing his arms across his chest, making his tattooed forearms seeming all the more obvious. "Sorry there, pal, but I like my dignity."  
  
"He's just cranky 'cause he's too old to remember two different names for every person, don't mind him!" Nathan smiles reassuringly. He's a bit harsh, but seems like all the teasing comes with good intentions.  
  
Jack refrains from actually participating in the argument. He honestly didn't intend to live with an alias, and everyone called him Jack already, so when his manager first asked him what he would like his stage name to be it seemed only natural. He wasn't prepared for the implications of that. He doesn't really have friends out of the industry anymore; the work screws up your free time, and his acquaintances with a higher sense of morality ditched him once they learned what he did to pay the bills, so now the only people who call him Sean are the ones that don't know his profession.  
  
Jack ends up ordering a fry up: eggs, sausage, buttered toast, the whole ordeal. He doesn't indulge in heavy breakfast food all that often, it is cool to mix it up a bit.  
  
The group winds up talking about work things, which in turn causes the neighboring tables to sneak curious looks fairly frequently. Jack doesn’t judge them too harshly. Jack would probably be staring too if he heard five people loudly comparing brands of lube. Jack is happy to know they all shared his distaste for shower scenes.  
  
“So, how many of you are actually daddies?” Jack is smiling, munching on his food, just happy to be able to talk. He does get pretty lonely.  
  
His question turns out to be a good one. Nathan immediately pulls up his phone to show off, he and his partner adopted a five-year-old boy… naturally Nathan took hundreds of pictures of the boy. It’s pretty cute to watch him gush over how amazing it is to be a dad. Josh B. joins him in the gushing; his long-term boyfriend has two kids and Josh is kind of a step-father to them.  
  
To Jack, _this_ is the real perk of daddies. Some people like daddies because they have fantasies of sleeping with someone’s husband, their teachers or older relatives, but to him the thing that makes Nathan and Josh B. attractive is the sweet look in their eyes when they talk about their kids. Daddies give him this “good guy” vibe, almost as if he could trust them to take good care of him, that is the hottest thing in Jack’s opinion.  
  
David has a kid from a previous marriage; he isn’t very comfortable talking about the kid. It’s pretty obvious he’s still a little hurt over the breakup. Troy is pouting a bit, he is the only one with no kids yet, he is still very single, and not really that concerned about changing that. Free spirit and all that crap.  
  
They finish up their meals a little later than expected, what with all the chatting they were doing, they got kind of distracted from eating. The director reassures them that he will be in contact soon to choose who he will pair Jack with. Jack doesn’t really prefer anyone over the other, he’d much rather finally get together with Mark, camera or not.

 

 

  
He arrives at Mark’s house for their date. It’s apparently game night for Mark and his friends and Jack is invited. When the door opens Jack is ready and excited to greet Mark with a naughty little kiss, but when he looks up… and then looks up some more… and a little more, he finds two really tall guys smiling back at him.  
  
His only reaction is a quietly muttered “Holy fuck you are tall.”  
  
Apparently that is the right choice, because they both smile a little wider, introduce themselves, and guide him inside to where Mark is fiddling with cables and controllers on the floor next to his TV set, and looks up at them with honest surprise.  
  
“What the hell, guys? You said it was the pizza guy! _I_ wanted to greet him at the door!” Mark pouts from where he is sitting.  
  
“Why? So you could kiiiiiss him?” Wade teases him and picks up one of the controllers from Mark’s hands.  
  
Mark grumbles out a quiet “Yeah…” and for some reason that is so adorable to Jack that he leaves all the shame behind, walks right in front of Mark and bends down at the waist. He runs his hands through Mark’s hair to encourage him to look up, and kisses him nice and sweet, with just a bit of tongue to make it interesting. He doesn’t even care that Mark’s friends casually look away to give them a moment.  
  
“Nice to see you again, ya dork. Can’t believe you fell for that.” Jack speaks very softly, still bending close and running his fingers through the mop of messy hair.  
  
Mark takes a long while to answer him, his eyes have a hungry glint to them and keep straying back to Jack’s mouth, and when he finally answers, his voice is even deeper than usual. “Hi, I’m gonna kick your ass at Mario Kart.” Definitely the weirdest sentence to ever turn Jack on.

 

 

  
He does end up getting his ass kicked, but he fits right in with the guys. Bob has a dry sense of humor that just works for him, and Wade is just goofy. They both seem to really like Mark, even with all the teasing. Oh, and how they tease him… Bob tells him all about how Mark recruited him to help choose an outfit for their date, and Wade just narrates anecdotes of their friendship. Seeing Mark all bothered is actually really cute.  
  
They switch up games quite a lot, bouncing from one console to the other, but the real highlight of the day is Wade’s incredible struggle with the kinnect. They set up a silly Zumba game that was lost in the middle of Mark’s collection along with some other dance games he doesn’t admit to buying.  
  
They dance around like children. Bob sits on the couch and laughs until he is almost out of breath. There is a song with some crazy Zumba version of river dancing, which is both slightly racist against Irish people and fucking hilarious. Mark almost falls flat on his ass and tries to pick a fight with the dancer on the screen.

 

 

  
While Bob and Wade dance a little duet, Mark sits down next to Sean on the sofa. Sean has a face full of pizza and is looking all pink and shiny from all the exercise. Mark feels a bubble of possessiveness burst in his chest, and doesn’t resist the impulse to cuddle up to him. He nuzzles his face on the crook of Sean’s neck, gives him a little kiss right behind his ear, and almost breaks his nose in the process when Sean jumps in a startle and starts giggling.  
  
They end up dancing more. He does a little duet with Sean for a pop song full of pelvic thrusts and booty wiggling. Mark turns to him with this ridiculously over the top seductive pout and asks him loudly, “Do you feel entranced by the movement of my buns?” and Sean just slaps him in the ass as a response. By the end of the night all of them are laughing hard enough to feel it in their abs.

 

 

  
Eventually Bob and Wade need to leave, and while Mark goes pick up his keys to let them out of the house, they approach Jack with serious expressions.  
  
“You know, I’ve been friends with Mark for what feels like forever.” Wade places his hand on Jack’s shoulder, “I just want you to know that this is probably the happiest I’ve seen him in quite some time.”  
  
Jack feels strangely proud of that… it’s still so early to be saying that… but he really likes Mark. A pang of guilt runs through him as he wonders if Mark would be as happy if he found out what Jack does for a living, but Jack bites his lips and nods reassuringly to Wade.  
  
“Hey, you be careful with Mark, ok? He doesn’t really know what he’s doing most of the time, so no taking advantage, alright? And also, you should hang out with us more often. You’re a pretty cool guy. We’re not going to let Mark keep you all for himself.” Bob smiles softly after that little speech, and Jack feels so normal, so welcomed. America is fucking great.  
  
“What are you doing all piled up in the corner?” Mark comes back into the room. The guys go back to talking to him and disappear down the corridor. From the living room, Jack can still hear Mark scolding them for trying to scare his date away. Oh, if only he knew.

 

 

  
As soon as Mark gets back, the mood shifts dramatically. They’re finally alone in his house, the tension is thick enough to be cut with a knife, but the American tries to ignore it a little awkwardly, “Uhm… so… what game do you want to play next?” He asks and sits down on the floor next to his consoles, “We could take turns with a single player game if you want…” Mark fidgets with the cables and shuffles his disks around just to do something with his hands.  
  
Jack ignores all of that. He walks over to where Mark is sitting, kneels down and manhandles him around until he can comfortably sit right on Mark’s lap. Mark looks up at him, eyes wide and pupils blown wide.  
  
“Thank you so much for tonight.” Jack kisses the tip of Mark’s nose, “It was really, really fun.” Then he kisses his forehead, “The guys were really nice to me.” Jack kisses his temple softly, “And you are the sweetest guy I know.” Jack finishes off by pressing their foreheads together, closing his eyes and just feeling Mark’s breathing mingling with his own.

 

 

  
“Sean…” Mark calls him very softly. He encircles Sean’s waist and tugs him close, he leans his head to the side a bit and kisses Sean nice and soft. They are so close that Mark can feel the shudder in Sean’s breath, feel every shift and wiggle right down to his bones. They kiss deeply and Sean’s hips start a slow rhythm, just circling slightly. Mark can see the little hairs rising on Sean’s arms as he runs his hands just under his shirt, feeling around the elastic band of the Irishman’s underwear.  
  
Sean moans softly into the kiss and accidentally knocks Mark’s glasses askew when he feels a hand slowly making its way up his sides under his shirt. Mark breaks the kiss briefly to fix his glasses, but instead of going back to Sean’s lips, he takes a detour and presses his lips softly just under Sean's jaw line. The stubble makes his lips tingle, and that, he finds, is one of the unexpected perks of making out with a guy.

 

 

  
Once Mark’s hands finally climb up to his pecs, Jack’s nipples are already perky and sensitive. A soft brush against them pulls a gasp from him that is probably a little too loud, but seeing as it causes Mark to reflexively thrust his hips up, Jack can’t feel too guilty about it, and starts to press downwards more firmly onto his lap.  
  
Mark pinches a nipple and tugs slightly, his left arm moving to Jack's waist to guide him and push him down to grind harder. He moves back to kiss his mouth, open, wet and messy.  
  
Jack’s breathing is all messed up, and he leans away a bit to take a deep breath in. He looks down at Mark, his eyes are so dark now they almost seem pure black, his mouth is open and bright wet-pink from kissing. “Mark, ask me to spend the night.” He demands, and circles his hips slowly just to see Mark lose his cool.  
  
“Sleep with me tonight, Sean.”  
  
That voice… so deep and full of conviction. He can only say yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thank you for reading!
> 
> Next chapter will probably be very porny, be prepared.
> 
> For snippets and progress updates check out my tumblr: rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com .
> 
> See you next time!


	7. Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack spends the night at Mark's place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Once again: thank you so much for all the kudos and comments, I am still super impressed at the response this silly little fic is getting.
> 
> If you want progress updates be sure to check my tumblr at [rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com](http://rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com/)  
> where you can find my random thoughts on writing and some snippets here and there.
> 
> This chapter was Beta'd by the lovely [Fantismal](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantismal/pseuds/Fantismal)

Mark feels the sudden lack of contact immediately. He looks up to see Sean standing up and offering his hand to help pull him up and off the ground. Instead of accepting the help Mark grabs him by the hips, tugging him close once again. Sean’s hips are just the perfect height now; he presses his face against the bulge in front of him. When he feels Sean trying to wiggle away from his grip, Mark shifts his hold and instead of clinging to Sean’s hips, he takes handfuls of his plush and perky ass. Mark is aware that Sean is urging him to move this to the bedroom, but he ignores him in favor of mouthing at his hardness through his jeans.  
  
Sean apparently runs out of patience and just turns around in his grip, turning his back to him. Immensely frustrated, Mark does the first thing that comes to mind.  
  
“Did ya just bite my ass?” Sean asks with a giggle.  
  
Better own up to his actions. Mark nods with his face still pressed up against Sean’s butt.  
  
 “Mark, just tell me where the bedroom is, and you can bite my butt on a nice, comfy bed.”  
  
Mark finally stands up and hugs Sean close. He presses his hips forwards a little and melts into the embrace: they fit so perfectly together. Mark presses a soft kiss just behind Sean’s ear. “First door on the left,” he whispers, and lets Sean grab him by the hand and tug him to their destination.

 

 

  
Mark looks so far gone now, and Jack can’t stop admiring the scene. His eyes are so focused and dark, he actually looks like he could eat Jack whole, Mark hasn’t stopped touching him like he was incapable of letting go. It was a difficult situation though, because now they had to set limits and Mark clearly didn’t have enough blood left in his brain to keep up a civil conversation.  
  
“Ya gotta tell me how far you want to go.” Jack lets Mark push him down to sit on the edge of the bed. “Mark, you’re really new to this; I need to know your limits.” Mark tilts Jack’s head up and starts bending down for a kiss but Jack leans away. “We should probably stick to hand jobs or maybe a BJ if you’re feeling adventurous, don’t leave it up to me, please, cause I really want you to fuck me but I don’t want to freak you out.”  
  
“I wanted to fuck you for so long, you have no idea.”

It was hard to resist the deep growl of that voice, but Jack was trying to be the brains of this operation. He tried whining instead. “Mark, c’mon…”  
  
“How about we just… keep going, and if anything makes me feel overwhelmed, we can just stop.” This time Jack did not resist the kiss.  
  
He sighs. Well… better than nothing.

 

  


Mark pushes Sean down on the bed, and it is a whole new bag of awesome to kiss him horizontally. They only break the kiss for a while to pull off their shirts and Mark needs to take a moment to breathe. Sean looks so damn attractive in that moment: his muscles shift from all the movement, his chest is heaving, and his legs are wrapped around Mark’s hips in a vice-like grip.  
  
Sean is squirming under him. Mark licks down his neck to his chest. The little bit of downy hair he finds there is different but not bad at all. He licks softly and pinches one of Sean’s nipples forcefully, and the contrast makes Sean buck up against him with a groan.  
  
He grabs Sean by the thighs and scoots him up the bed so that they are closer to the headboard.  


 

  
For some reason, Jack finds it really fucking hot when Mark manhandles him like this. There’s just something about being tossed around like he weighs nothing. In an impulse, he hooks his fingers through Mark’s belt loops and starts tugging his pants down. He doesn't take them off right away, just tugs them down enough to get his hands inside and pull out Mark's cock. It’s not the biggest he has taken, thank god, but instead a delicious hot handful, long enough to be interesting without being a hassle, veiny like the rest of Mark, and curved slightly up.  
  
Jack squeezes the tip a little, and Mark's hips stutter and he thrusts into his hand reflexively. It's a little dry, but the action still rips a gasp from Mark.    
  
“How do you like it?”  
  
It takes a while for the American to focus on the words and properly understand the question, but Jack does nothing more until Mark gives him directions.  
  
“Uhh… just… tease the head and let me fuck into it, ugh.” Jack licks both of his palms, and he knows it is unfairly attractive. He knows his way around a cock already, so it is easy to wrap one hand around the base and play with Mark’s slit in different rhythms to see how it alters the movement of Mark's hips. Seeing Mark let go like that is a goddamn turn on. Seeing how much Jack could drive him nuts with only his hands was making him wonder just how those thrusts would feel inside of him. Jack’s mouth waters, and it gives him a great idea.

 

 

  
They switch positions, and now Sean is resting with his back propped up against the headboard and Mark is on his knees right in front of him, Mark put a condom on, but the mood hasn’t suffered from it.  
  
Mark can’t look down for too long. When he does, he sees the blush on Sean’s face, his big blue eyes and ridiculously long lashes, his pretty pink lips all slick and gorgeous around Mark’s dick. It’s just too much for him to handle. Instead Mark lets his eyes fall shut and focuses on the flashes of warmth with almost no pressure from Sean’s licking and gets startled every time he feels sucking kisses all over.

 

 

  
Jack sucks and tongues at Mark’s head and pumps his hand around the shaft. He can hear the soft gasps coming from above him. Mark was doing such a good job of holding his hips still, but Jack can still see the tiny stuttering aborted movements every time he sucks hard under the glans. It makes him a little greedy. He tries swallowing more of Mark but gags badly enough he has to get some distance.  
  
"So that's why you don't go all the way down…" Mark remarks once he hears Jack coughing discreetly.  
  
 Jack’s eyes water more from the disappointment with himself. He covers it up with fake bravado, slaps Mark lightly on the side of his legs "Still do a pretty damn good job despite it, right?" He runs his hands up Mark's abs and drags his nails down his chest, making him moan when they catch on his nipples.  
  
“Aren’t you bored down there? Can I do something for you?” Mark looks down at him with a very eager and honest face.  
  
Jack knows he is probably pushing a little bit too far, but he asks anyway, “Have you ever fingered a girl?” Mark just nods and looks a bit confused, “Well, now you’re going to learn how to finger a guy. Lesson number one: lube is now your new best friend. Where do you keep yours?” Mark looks a bit like a deer in the headlights, but recovers quickly to open a drawer and pick up a tube of water based lube that is still in a closed package. Jack had a feeling he had bought it recently, probably in preparation for their first night together. For some reason this seemed really adorable.  
  
The lube was definitely not one of his favorite brands, but Jack rolls with it. “Okay, so this is water based. It is fine, but it dries up kinda quick. But don’t worry I’m going to introduce you to the wonders of silicone based lube eventually!” Mark looks slightly proud of himself, maybe because he bought a decent lubricant, or maybe from the promise of other encounters, “If you are tryin’ to stretch a guy out it’s better if you press up in different directions and hold the position for a bit, but since this is for fun only you can just go for it.”

 

 

  
Turns out Mark really enjoys fingering Sean. It's a power trip. It's super easy to see what works, because every time he does something right, Jack's dick twitches up a little bit. Mark is able to find where the prostate is pretty easily cause it is a squishy little bump. He is following Jack's tips as best as he can: don't smash against it. Rub around it, or go lightly just over it. Mark apparently does a good job because Sean is squirming and tugging the sheets.  
  
There is also a whole visual aspect to it. Mark lies belly down on the bed right in the middle of Sean’s open legs just to watch it better. He marvels at the contrast of his tan fingers on Sean's pale skin, how pink and slick and gorgeous his hole looks, and once Sean gets into it and starts riding his fingers down, just how nice and plush his ass looks and feels. Mark gives into his impulse and just licks Sean's perineum, just holds the flat of his tongue over it for a while. Sean almost bucks him off with a shout. Mark has a front row seat to the sight of a fat drop of precum dripping down Sean's dick and before he can actually lick it clean, he gets tugged up by the hair.  
  
 “Ok, change of plans: you're definitely fucking me tonight." Mark feels his dick throb and can only nod.

 

 

 

They reapply the lube, and Mark pushes into him really slowly. His are eyes wide and he looks overwhelmed, but Jack can’t reassure him. He has to close his eyes, blushing hard and biting his lips as he tries to keep quiet. Mark pushes in a little deeper, and Jack can’t hold on. He moans loudly into the room.  
  
"God, baby, you're so fucking beautiful."  
  
Jack feels his cheeks burn even darker red and covers his face with his hands. Mark pushes them away.  
  
“Don’t hide from me.”  
  
Jack opens his eyes as Mark starts fucking into him, slow and gentle, meeting his gaze. Mark holds his breath as he pushes in, Jack notices, only exhaling when he’s as deep as he can get. Jack rolls his hips and groans out long and deep. Mark is following his rhythm now, looking absolutely mesmerized. His mouth is hanging open, and eyes are dilated and fluttering. Now Mark is the one who is struggling to watch.  
  
Jack looks up and sees that Mark's hair is even more messy than usual; he is starting to sweat and looks absolutely beautiful. Jack feels deliciously caged in by Mark’s arms on either side of his head and he just wants to trace the veins on those wrists with his tongue. Mark is too far away, so Jack tugs him close and hides his face against Mark's neck. On Mark’s next thrust Jack's dick rubs up against their abs, trapped between them. The Irishman muffles his moans by biting and sucking on Mark’s neck. It is awesome that Mark is not in the industry cause Jack can leave marks wherever he wants in a proud possessive urge to claim the other man. Their perspiration is making things slippery and difficult, so Mark changes his grip and grabs Jack by the shoulder and the ass, getting even deeper than before. Jack nudges him around until he can put one of his legs over Mark's shoulder. When the angle changes, and Jack is seeing stars. Mark takes the clue and starts aiming his thrusts slightly upwards.  
  
"Oh Mark, fuck me uh-ugh like that… yeah," The headboard starts knocking against the wall and the American slows down a bit to try and stop the pounding. "Fuck’s sake Mark, move!" Mark gives him one sharp hard thrust just out of spite that knocks the breath out of him. Jack’s toes curl and a shiver runs down his spine. Mark gradually speeds up again, and soon enough Jack is bouncing hard on his dick. It starts feeling so good and Jack doesn't have any willpower left. He grabs Mark by the hair and tugs him down into a filthy kiss reaching between them to start pumping his erection in time with Mark's thrusts. Mark keeps aiming up in just the right spot, pulling all kinds of embarrassingly loud noises from him. As Mark gets closer to the edge, his hips start to stutter a bit. He widens his stance and bites his lip, and Jack is actually impressed he lasted that long.

 

 

  
“Oh god I’m going to come, uhh Sean!” Mark completely loses any semblance of a rhythm and focuses only on getting off. Thrusting fast and deep, he makes the mistake of looking down. Seeing Sean so lost in pleasure drags him down into an orgasm that shakes him to the bone.  
  
He comes down from the pleasure high just in time to witness Sean falling apart in his arms.  
  
Mark feels boneless and exhausted. He pulls out of Sean slowly, grabbing at the base of the filled condom but too tired to tug it off yet. He flops down next to him and throws his arm across Sean’s still heaving chest to pull him into a cuddle. Mark feels the wetness of Sean’s come beneath his fingers but at that moment he is unable to care about that.  
  
Of course that’s when Sean bolts from his arms and sits by the edge of the bed.  
  
“Wow! That was awesome!” Sean says with a bright smile, Mark could only grunt in confusion. “Hey, I’m gonna go to the bathroom clean up and maybe get a glass of water,” Sean points at his crotch, “Get that thing off, and I can throw it out for ya.”  
  
“How the hell are you so chipper?” Mark grumbles still too busy being a puddle of melted butter on the bed. Mark fiddles around with his crotch until his clumsy fingers can remove and tie off the condom.  
  
“I dunno, I always get this burst of energy after I come.”  
  
Mark feels a little cold and abandoned on the bed but at least he has a nice view of Sean butt naked strolling out of his room with a spring to his step.  
  
Sean is back fairly quickly and bounces back on the bed to lay down next to Mark. He drops some bunched up tissues on his face with a cheeky smile, “Here, clean yerself up, ya lazy doof.”  
  
Mark picks up the paper and wipes himself down with it, whining through the whole process. After he finishes, he throws it over his shoulder and turns to pull Sean to him and pepper kisses all over his face. Sean scrunches up his nose and tries to escape the affection attack.  
  
Once Mark is pleased with his work he flops down on top of Sean and goes right back to aggressively cuddling. He looks Sean in the eyes and kisses him softly on the forehead which in turn makes him giggle and hug him back.


	8. Intimacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack has a pleasant morning and a busy afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This fic has now over 400 kudos!! What even?   
> I never expected it to go this far. Thank you soooo much for all the support.
> 
> The next chapter should be out next week!  
> If you like progress updates check my tumblr at [rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com](http://rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com/)
> 
> This chapter was Beta'd by the lovely [Fantismal](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantismal/pseuds/Fantismal) <3

Mark opens his eyes to a bright shock of green; he didn’t even remember falling asleep. After having sex with Sean, he remembers pulling the covers over them both, twining their legs together, and talking well into the night because Sean was too hyper to sleep.  
  
Sean had a cute sleeping face. It was strange seeing him so peaceful and quiet. Mark runs his fingers through the dyed hair and pushes it away from Sean’s sleeping face. That was apparently too bold of a move, because soon after Sean opens his eyes just a little, squinting against the morning light. Mark smiles down at him, and Sean just tugs the covers over his head and tries to turn around and go back to sleep.  
  
Mark tugs the covers down again and is struck by Sean’s sleepy glare, “Hey there. You are definitely not a morning person, are you?” Sean gives up on hiding beneath the covers and sits up with a long sigh.

 

 

  
“Mornin’ Mark,” Jack says, stretching his arms high above his head. He almost misses a quiet snicker coming from his bedmate and turns to look at Mark just in time to see him bite his lips and look away, pretending nothing happened. “What?”  
  
“Uhh… Nothing!” Mark raises his eyebrows and tries to look innocent but Jack doesn’t buy it.  
  
“Yeah right. What is it, Mark?” This time Mark didn’t even bother hiding his giggle.  
  
“Merk,” Mark mumbled between giggles.  
  
“What?”  
  
“You called me Merk, like M-E-R-K. It’s cute.”  
  
“Fuck’s sake, Mark!” The outbust rips out another short round of laughter from the other. “It’s too early for this shite.”  
  
“You are more Irish in the mornings. It’s so funny.” Jack was trying to be mad, but  he takes one glance down and sees Mark looking adorable: his eyes are all squinty, his shoulders are shaking from laughing, and his bed-head is out of control against the pillowcase. Jack tries to hold on to his annoyance, but the image forces a smile out of him.  
  
“Damn these leprechauns hidin’ me lucky chaerms.” He gets in on the joke and forces his accent even more just to see Mark smile.  
  
Mark looks at him with mirth in his dark eyes, “Hey, would you be offended if I told you I have Lucky Charms in my kitchen?”  
  
“Not as long as we don’t eat it for breakfast today.”  
  
“Oh come on, I did something Irish last night, why can’t I do something Irish for breakfast?” The sudden flirt takes Jack by surprise; it was quite impressive.  
  
“Well, if you wanted to do something Irish for breakfast, you could’ve just asked me.” This shuts Mark up almost immediately. Jack licks his lips: it is so fun to tease Mark.  
  
“Oh…” Jack can almost see the loading screen in Mark’s brain as he processes that sentence. “Does that mean-”  
  
“Buuut, since you decided to make fun of my accent… I demand breakfast first. Oh, and no Lucky Charms.” Jack is starting to feel hungry anyway. It was better to interrupt any naughtiness before proper nutrition.  
  
Mark still looks a little horny but laughs at his joke anyway, “Alright, you can finish waking up, and I’ll go check what we can do for breakfast.” Mark surprises him with a loud smooch on top of the head before picking up his underwear from the floor and walking out the door.

 

 

  
Mark is proud to be a decent cook. His mom spent a lot of time working once his father passed, and inevitably he had to learn how to fend for himself in the subject of meals. The same could not be said for his brother, which was only a bigger incentive to cook more often.  
  
While Mark is cutting up a carrot and some green pepper for an omelet, Sean shows up in the kitchen. He looks tiny and sweet, still half asleep and rumpled, dressed in the previous night’s underwear. Mark asks him to help chop some tomatoes while he sets the table.  
  
“Ya know, you look unfairly good in the mornings.”It seemed Sean was more like himself after a few sips of coffee and some breakfast, “You should never wear a shirt again.” He was making little noises of approval with every bite he took.  
  
Mark preens a little from the compliment. It is nice to know he still looks good the morning after without the fog of lust to cloud things up. He knows he is still a little too green to have made an impression on Sean last night, but he is willing to learn if he gets the chance to practice.  
  
Speaking of practice… “Hey, wanna share a shower after we finish this up?” Mark tries sounding hot. He makes full use of his deep voice, but as he looks up, he finds Sean frozen with his fork halfway up his open mouth. It didn’t seem very effective.  
  
Sean lowers his fork and licks his lips a little nervously. “Mark, I don’t know how else to say this…” In an instant Mark’s heart drops to his stomach and he reconsiders everything he has done so far. Maybe he misread the situation somehow? “It’s just that…” Sean scrunches up his face and covers his eyes with his hands. “I fucking _hate_ shower sex” Sean peeks at him from between his fingers, looking red in the face and insecure.  
  
“Oh, that’s it? Alright then, we won’t have any.” Mark sighs, “You scared me there for a second.”  
  
“Sorry.” Sean drops his hands back down on the table and starts fidgeting with his fork. “You can take the first shower if you want.”  
  
“I just told you we don’t need to have sex. We can still shower together. I do have some self control, you know.”  
  
Sean looks surprised. It breaks Mark’s heart a little bit that Sean hadn’t even considered that, but Sean makes it all better by ducking his head down and smiling shyly.

 

 

  
If Jack thought Mark looked good shirtless before, he was definitely unprepared for naked, wet Mark.  
  
The water feels nice and warm, and the shower stall is small enough that they have to squeeze past each other every time they switch up positions. Mark offers to soap up his hair for him and Jack readily agrees. Mark’s fingers feel really nice even when he playfully tugs at the strands trying to sculpt a mohawk. They share soapy kisses under the stream of water. It is a whole new kind of intimacy that is both endearing and scary as fuck. How can he be so attached to this guy already? Jack understands he is attracted to the good guy vibes Mark practically oozes, but it still seems a little extreme to feel this giddy just to be around him.  
  
He tests Mark’s patience a little by rubbing up against him and kissing him deep, all slick and warm. Mark grabs him by the ass for a while and Jack can feel him starting to get hard pressed up against him, but Mark doesn’t try to escalate anything and eventually lets go of his butt and goes back to cleaning himself up.  
  
It feels like a small eternity before they get out of the shower and start toweling off. Mark lends him a fresh pair of underwear, just so he wouldn’t have to reuse the ones from the previous day.  
  
Jack bends down and tugs on a pair of light blue boxer shorts that are just a little too big on him. He hears a weird groan coming from behind him and turns to look over his shoulder. Behind him is Mark, eyes dark, face flushed, and holding on tightly to the towel strategically placed in front of his crotch. He was fooling absolutely no one.  
  
“So let me guess… I look pretty good in your clothes?” Mark approaches him slowly, drops his towel on the floor and hugs him from behind pressing a soft kiss against the nape of Jack’s neck.  
  
“You smell like my shampoo now,” Mark mutters, and Jack feels his voice almost like a caress. “It’s doing things to my brain.”  
  
The boxers end up on the ground soon after.  
  
Mark grinds against him from behind and reaches around to give him a hand job. Jack has to focus on not letting his knees buckle. Mark’s hands on his dick and all the wet kisses on his neck and shoulders, combined with the rough texture of Mark’s stubble, are bordering on overstimulation. He breathes a sigh of relief when Mark stops his kisses to peer over Jack’s shoulders to admire his job well done, but the sigh turns into a moan once Mark decides to use his free hand to torment Jack’s nipples.  
  
They get a little messy after that and Mark has to find him a new pair of boxers that is not stained with cum.

 

 

  
Jack leaves Mark’s place a bit later than he had planned. He has just enough time to drop by his place to change his clothes before going to the Red Leopard studio. He picks out clothes that are comfortable and easy to take off, since today he would have to deal with the costuming department, which meant a lot of trying things on and taking them off over and over. They might do the hair and make-up tests on the same day too. On one hand it would mean he wouldn’t have to come back again, but on the other, doing it all at once would mean he had a full afternoon ahead of him.  
  
He almost changes into one of his own pairs of underwear but hesitates when he goes to take off the one borrowed from Mark. It was probably a bit weird to want to keep them on, but it felt nice to walk around with something of Mark’s.  
  
Costuming is even more chaotic than he expected. Jack meets his co-star for the scene; they would do their costume tests at the same time to see if they matched as a couple. Jack didn’t end up with the role he was really hoping for, but playing the office intern wouldn’t be too bad.  
  
They make Jack try on at least ten different button up shirts before choosing a simple white shirt with a little black trim on the collar as his main costume. It feels like cheap fabric and it is a little too big on him, but the team would still stuff him full of pins to take in any extra fabric. At least his tie options were a little more expensive looking. Selecting his underwear takes them no time at all: apparently it is a consensus that he looks good on white boxer briefs. After every change of clothes, they take a quick picture of him. By the time they finally decide what trousers he is going to wear, Jack is certain that they must have filled a memory card full of him looking bored in a bazillion different clothing combinations.  
  
Hair and makeup feel like a relief after so much movement. Jack is finally able to sit back and let them do whatever they liked on his face. The lady in charge of his makeup notices some redness on the side of his neck and scolds him a little for getting a stubble burn for her to cover up, Jack mentally curses Mark a little bit and tries to convince the woman that the redness is just a minor allergy to his laundry detergent. She rolls her eyes, clearly not buying any of it, but doesn’t mention it again. Jack hates getting marks, not only does his pale skin make them too obvious, but unlike Mark’s underwear, he can’t leave them behind when he wants to.


	9. Weakness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack plays host for a night and worries about everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> This chapter marks the start of things getting a little more serious. I hope you don't hate me for it! hehehe!  
> Thank you again for all the support, and I hope you enjoy this new chapter ♡
> 
> This chapter was Beta'd by the lovely [Fantismal](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantismal/pseuds/Fantismal)
> 
> If you like progress updates check my tumblr at [rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com](http://rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com/)
> 
> The next chapter should be out next week!

Jack is over thinking it. Ever since he sent a text inviting Mark over to his place, he can’t stop feeling anxious. There isn’t anything logical to be anxious about. Jack had been to Mark’s place quite a few times already, and there is nothing incriminating in his own rented apartment. He stress cleans the whole place anyway, just to be sure.  
  
He really shouldn’t feel guilty over this. Jack is certain he never wants Mark to know what he does for a living. It would change things between them. For the first time in a long while, Jack can’t bear the thought of his work destroying a relationship. Jack can’t lose another person over mindless possessiveness. He has an _honest_ job _,_ damn it! It isn’t like he’s fucking around with other guys for the heck of it!  
  
One month and some spare days. That is all he needs to get through, just one more month of hiding and then Mark will be thousands of miles away and forgotten. Jack would be nothing but fond memories of Mark’s wild gay adventure in his college days, and they would never have to see each other again. It would be wiser to just dump Mark now, before he gets too attached, but Jack just can’t bring himself to do it. Perhaps he had waited too long for that.  
  
Jack is still agonizing over things when he feels his phone vibrating in his jeans’ pocket.  
  
It’s a text from Mark: _“Thinking of you <3”_ with one picture attached. More specifically, it’s a slightly blurry selfie of Mark in some sort of grocery store pointing at Lucky Charms boxes in the cereal aisle.  
  
Jack giggles a bit and responds to the text. _“You’re an asshole”_.  
  
A few seconds later, he receives a second picture of Mark holding up a bag of potatoes captioned _“Found your family.”_  
  
Jack takes a selfie showing his middle finger. He tries to look menacing, but the silliness of the situation is too much and he ends up smiling. He sends it to Mark anyway.  
  
_“But serious moment now_  
I’m at the supermarket rn need me to buy anything special for tomorrow?  
Thanks for the new background pic btw. :)”  
  
Before Jack can finish typing his reply, he receives another picture: a photo of the personal lubricant and condom shelf followed by _“Which one should I get? ;)”_  
  
Jack bites his lip and smiles down to his phone. Mark wasn’t going to find any of the good stuff at a supermarket, but it was cute to see him try. _“I still have plenty, but thanks. Get me some ice cream for the dessert if you want.”_  
  
After they finish their conversation, Jack runs his hands through his hair and tugs at the strands in frustration. Mark being adorable was not helping the situation right now. Jack sinks back against the sofa cushions and wonders if it is normal to want to kiss your phone after receiving text messages.  


 

  
As soon as the door opens Mark pulls Sean into a tight hug. Sean gets his face smashed against Mark’s chest but doesn’t seem too bothered by it. When they get a little bit of space between them again, Mark is immediately pulled back in by Sean’s arm hooking around his neck and dragging him into a kiss. There’s nothing romantic or sensual about it, it’s just a loud smooch that makes his head feel all floaty and nice.  
  
“Hey, I brought cookie dough ice cream.”  
  
“Aw yeah! See, this is why I like you.” Sean grabs the bag he was carrying and ushers him inside before closing the door behind them.  
  
He guides Mark into his kitchen, if you could call it that. There was barely enough space to exist in that place. All the appliances are cluttered together, and the little bit of counter space is dominated by ingredients that are going to be used for their dinner. Sean opens his freezer and fishes around the plastic bag for the pint of ice cream before Mark can even open his mouth to protest.  
  
Sean’s hand stills for a moment and he looks Mark dead in the eyes, slowly smirking when he pulls out a toothbrush from the bag. “Are ya plannin’ for something special?”  
  
Mark considers denying it but decides against it. Instead he snatches his toothbrush back from Sean and answers his question with a simple “Yeah, sure,” and waggling his brows suggestively. He picks up the ice cream from the bag and stores it in Sean’s freezer himself.

 

 

  
Jack tries asking Mark for help with the cooking process, but there is just not enough space for them both to move around, especially with the oven and knives involved. Mark ends up leaning against the doorframe and just chatting with him.  
  
“I needed this today” Jack sighs. Filming had only just started and it was already a pain in the ass. It had been a long and exhausting day. There is nothing fun about sitting around and waiting for your scenes, or repeating the same lines over and over pretending to be attracted to some random guy, especially without the reward of orgasm at the end of the workday. At least now Jack only has the actual sex left to record.  
   
“Oh, why? Everything okay?” Mark looked at him with those warm brown eyes looking all concerned, for a second Jack considers telling him everything without censoring himself.  
  
Jack bites his lip, “Just missed you, I guess.” Mark smiles at him from the doorway and just leaves it at that.

 

 

  
They end up taking their plates to the living room and eating on the sofa. Sean goes through a few channels on the TV until he lands on some sort of gameshow and just leaves it there.  
  
“Isn’t this the best couch ever?” Sean is sitting in a slouch, half melting into the cushions, half leaning against Mark’s shoulder.  
  
“Oh, I don’t know… I’ve had better.” Mark actually agreed with him. The couch was ridiculously comfortable. It was just way more entertaining to tease Sean.  
  
Sean's mouth drops open and he looks so offended. “How dare you!” Mark can’t hold in his laughter at that ridiculous face. “I’d make you sleep on the couch tonight, but I love it too much to leave you alone with it.”  
  
“I was just kidding! No need to kick me out of bed before we even get to it.” Mark bumps their shoulders together, and it pulls a tiny smile from Sean.  
  
“Yeah, you better be just kidding. I almost want to take this sofa back home with me.”  
  
“Back where?”  
  
“Back to Ireland.” Sean looked at him a little puzzled “I’m going back next month after I finish up my job here.” Mark’s heart drops to his stomach in a second. His emotions must show if Sean’s worried expression was anything to go by. “Did I forget to tell you?”  
  
Mark is speechless. He hasn’t thought about that. Of course Sean would go back to Ireland: he had a whole life and a job there. His time in America, and consequentially his time with Mark, will eventually end.  
  
“I- I guess I just forgot it. Of course you’re going back to Ireland.”  
  
Sean shifts around to look at him in the face, “I guess we never talked about it.” Sean looks down and licks his lips before speaking. “Listen… Mark, I know we’ve been really hittin’ it off for hmm… about a month? I just want you to know that I don’t expect you to continue dating me when I’m off in another continent.”  
  
Mark can hear the blood rushing in his ears. This whole conversation is so uncomfortable it makes his skin crawl.  
  
“I’m not breaking up with you!” Mark speaks a little too loudly “I don’t care if you’re an ocean away from me, I don’t want to lose you before we give this a chance.”  
  
Mark is unable to read Sean’s expression.  
  
“Mark, be realistic!” Sean looks at him with those bright blue eyes and Mark can feel his gaze piercing right into him.  
  
“I’m serious! I don’t care if we have an open relationship, if I only see you through a webcam, if I have to travel just to see you face to face. I want to give it a chance.”  
  
Sean punches his arm lightly and breaks the eye contact to look down, “Stop being so nice, damn it!”  
  
“Listen to me.” Mark tugs on Sean’s fingers until he lets Mark hold his hand. “Just let it happen, alright? There’s no need to cut this short. Let’s just see where it takes us.”

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                            
Jack was right. It is definitely too late to let Mark go. If he walks away now, it will only hurt them both. This wasn’t supposed to happen! Mark was supposed to be his little bit of normal fun to pass his time in America and nothing more.  
  
He still feels insecure. What if Mark gets bored of him once they can’t see each other face to face? Jack isn’t used to this relationship stuff. What if he screws it up and Mark leaves him after all? What about his big secret? Jack is already having a hard time resisting telling Mark about his profession. Wouldn’t it just become harder and harder as their relationship lasts longer? What if Mark is just lying to him? Jack looks up and sees Mark’s brown eyes so full of hope.  
  
He could test Mark. Just to know if he is really as interested as he claims to be. “I just have one question for you.” Mark nods and grips Jack’s hand just a little tighter. “Did you really save my picture as your phone’s background?” Mark clumsily scrambles for his phone without letting go of Jack’s hand.  
  
Mark didn’t lie. Jack is definitely in it too deep now. In for a penny…“Ok, I trust you, ya fuckin’ dork. People are gonna think I’m an asshole. Who uses a picture of their boyfriend giving them the middle finger as a background?” Jack has to focus to get through the fear of using the word _boyfriend_ but he can’t back away now.

 

 

  
Mark can see the insecurity in Sean’s expression and smiles reassuringly as a response.  
  
“I guess we can just see where this thing takes us.” Sean wraps an arm around his shoulder and presses their foreheads together. He still seems a little shaken. “Now let’s take a decent picture together so I can use it as my background.” Mark kisses him sweet and deep. He can feel a strange sort of dread on the pit of his stomach. Even after they take silly pictures on Sean’s phone and share cold, sweet kisses between spoonfuls of Ice cream for dessert, Mark has this urge to make these moments count. He doesn’t want to be left behind; he doesn’t want to be forgotten.

 

 

  
That night, Jack feels like a virgin again. Mark is treating him with such care; he is so gentle and passionate that it makes Jack tremble beneath him. Maybe the nerves from earlier are messing with his head and making him more vulnerable, but Jack can’t help shivering and moaning as Mark holds him tight. Mark is being careful not to leave any bruises or marks and Jack wants to scream. He knows he made a fuss about it the first time, but Jack wants to demand that Mark do it anyway, never mind the consequences. It is making him feel incomplete. To counter that feeling, Jack scours his nails down Mark’s skin. He bites and licks and grasps at him so hard it will leave bruises. Mark doesn’t push him away, doesn’t ask him to stop, just keeps fucking him relentlessly and passionately as if trying to make a statement.  
  
Mark is deliberately trying to make him lose his mind …and succeeding.  
  
When he feels the desperation to reach orgasm starting to set in, Jack starts shoving his hips back to dictate the rhythm only to be held down and forced to take the slow torture of Mark’s thrusts.  
  
Jack’s orgasm doesn’t come as a sudden rush. Instead, he can feel the pressure building up in his guts every time the head of Mark’s cock brushes over his prostate. It feels like an eternity, like he is stuck in a constant loop of pleasure. By the end of it, his chest feels heavy and his head is empty.  
  
Once Jack finally comes, he feels it in his whole body: his legs spasm, his hands shake, he throws his head back and feels his heart pounding out of his chest. It’s a long time before he can see straight once again.  
  
He feels Mark’s hips starting to stutter and shoves him away with what little strength he has left in his still shaky limbs. “Pull out, Mark, pull out.” Jack’s voice is shot to shit and he can’t pull a full breath, but he makes himself understood. Mark looks a little worried and complies with his request straight away.  
  
Jack tugs the condom off Mark’s dick and jacks him off fast and hard with the sole purpose of getting him off as quickly as he can. Mark almost doubles over from the intensity, and in no time at all is moaning loudly and coming all over Jack’s body.  
  
Jack closes his eyes and revels in the feeling of being claimed by Mark. He can’t have hickeys or bruises, but at least he can have this.


	10. Divided Attention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark keeps popping up in Jack's head while he works.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,  
> We did it!! We have over 500 kudos!!!! Thank you so so so much for all the support!  
> I had the worst timing with this trip. I am uploading the chapter from my phone, now let's hope everything goes well.  
> Enjoy the chapter ♡
> 
> If you like progress updates, snippets and previews be sure to check my tumblr at [rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com](http://rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com/)
> 
> This chapter was Beta'd by the lovely [Fantismal](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantismal/pseuds/Fantismal)♡♡♡

Mark is worried. After that one night at Sean’s place, things have been a little strained between them. How Sean tried to break things off caught Mark completely by surprise. He thought they were happy, that they could continue to be happy for an undefined amount of time. He was so blinded by what was going well that he hadn’t even thought of what could go wrong. With Sean’s departure growing closer, Mark is a lot more aware of what could possibly happen. Soon Sean won’t be a short drive away, and Mark can’t help but feel that if Sean genuinely wanted out now, the distance will only make him lose interest. It sucks that his mind jumps straight to that worst case scenario, but Mark doesn’t feel unjustified either. Sean is funny, beautiful, caring, and just… amazing. Mark… well, he is just Mark. Surely Sean will realize how he got the short end of the stick by picking Mark of all people to date.  
  
Sean is trying his best with the whole “giving it a chance” thing. He is opening up more, and Mark can see the strain in Sean’s eyes when he tries sharing stuff about work. He tells little coded anecdotes of his job as an “editor,” and Mark comes so close to telling him he knows about Jack McLean’s entire body of work, telling Sean how he drove Mark crazy even before they met. But Sean seems so proud of not letting anything slip when he finishes telling Mark about how busy he is taking two projects to edit at the same time and how different it is to be far from home and his regular co-workers. Mark doesn’t see what good it would do to tell the truth now. Or, for that matter, telling him the truth ever. If their relationship truly had such a clear expiration date, why should Mark ruin it early?  
  
It really doesn’t help Mark’s anxiety when Sean suddenly starts blowing off attempts to hang out. It scares him quite a bit until Sean drops enough hints that he is still interested in talking on the phone and Skype, but his work schedule has become too full to actually drag himself away.  
  
Mark can’t help but feel like he needs to convince Sean to stay.

 

 

  
The thing is: Jack doesn’t hate his job. That is probably the worst part.  
  
He isn’t stupid. If he didn’t like what he was doing he would never have taken his first gig. The hours are weird and the job is physically demanding, but he enjoys it nonetheless.  
  
Jack’s day is busy as all hell. He has to wake up early today to head to the studio. They start the photo shoot first. All photos are being taken in the same day, from the promo pictures with everyone in the cast to the action shots to be used during the recording. He takes a few provocative pictures alone and with his partner. The highlight of the session is when the photographer put all the bottoms nude in the same shot and asked them all to think of it as a booty auction and show off their best assets. Needless to say, they need a five minute break to stop laughing.  
  
After hours of photos, Jack waits around for a loooong time while the crew sets up the cameras, mics, and lighting in his set. He sees a string of unopened messages from Mark and takes the time to text him back. Jack has to make a lot of excuses not to see him this week. Both of his scenes are scheduled really close together, and he needs the alone time. He shoots down every offer to meet up with Mark not because he doesn’t trust Mark to stop if he asks for a week without sex, but because… Jack doesn’t trust himself.  
  
After so long being single, Jack had forgotten just how satisfying it is to be in a relationship. On-camera sex could occasionally be really hot, but it was mostly a study in patience and frustration. It takes a few hours to record the average 20-minute scene, with constant pauses to fix lighting and camera positioning, having to re-lubricate often, taking breaks after long periods of penetration to avoid pain later on, a lot of short breaks for rehydrating, and having to re-do scenes to find the perfect shot. By the end of the ordeal, orgasm is either a relief or an even bigger chore.  
  
Sex with Mark is a simple straight forward affair: doing things that feel good until one of them comes is as easy as it gets. Add that to Mark’s enthusiasm and eagerness to please a new lover, and Jack has the most pleasant and satisfying sex he has had in a long time. There’s really no comparing it to work.  
  
It’s even better when Jack stays the night at Mark’s place. On those occasions they spend more time having fun together, not even fucking, just gaming and talking and watching silly programs on TV, normal and boring couple stuff that make Jack’s heart race for some reason.

 

 

  
Jack likes these sorts of scenes much better, the ones where he has the freedom to improvise a little. He doesn’t have to spend a couple of hours rehearsing what lines should be said during what position. The only thing he needs to remember is to call out “daddy” a couple of times, but that comes almost effortlessly.  
  
He does have a bit of trouble calling his co-star “Josh” after learning his real name, and once it slips out they have to re-do a small section of the scene, but it is nothing a little bit of editing can’t fix.  
  
Jack wouldn’t say he is bored, but he is definitely not concentrating 100% on what is happening. He is starting to really miss Mark: his silly laughter, his messy hair, the way Mark’s hips stutter when he is close to coming. Every time the crew takes a break, Jack lets his mind drift back to Mark and everything he wants to do together once they see each other again. He’d go straight to Mark’s place after recording if he could, but for now he just lies back and tries to enjoy the moment.

 

 

  
Hours later, Jack finally finishes up his workday, but before he can move to the showers to unwind, he gets cornered by the director. The man praises him to no end, telling Jack just how nice and professional he is and joking about the imports from Europe truly being worth the delivery fee. The guy tells him he is definitely looking forward to working with Jack again and that he will tell all his friends from the industry about the little green Irish boy that was so nice to work with.  
  
Jack’s heart speeds up a little, happy and frightened at the same time. Networking with American studios could mean a big boost on his career, and more American interest meant more time in America to come visit Mark. But it would take some hard work. He still had a good contract with ETB, and it had been a steady income for some time now. Besides, the more successful he becomes, the easier it will be to get recognized. Jack can only dread the day when he is out with Mark and some dude approaches him. What if he gets so well known that even a newly minted bisexual like Mark finds one of his videos? He should probably get to know Mark’s porn preferences and steer clear from them just in case. Now that he committed himself to seeing this relationship run its course, he should really put some effort into it.  
  
Despite all the drawbacks, Jack likes what he does for a living and doesn’t feel guilty about it at all. That is always what drives other people away from him. His exes thought he needed saving from a life of sex work, that he was dirty and traumatized because of it. As soon as they realized he genuinely showed no remorse in getting naked in front of a camera for money, those people who claimed to love him got weirded out and turned their backs on him.  
  
Jack sometimes daydreams about the perfect situation, where Mark doesn’t have a problem with what he does for a living and never asks to see Jack’s videos, a fantasy situation where he can keep being “Sean” in Mark’s eyes without having to lie about his life as Jack.  
  
Despite his fantasies, Jack is not going to quit his job anytime soon. He is good at sex and flirting. He’s outgoing and friendly, can take directions, memorize scripts, and act somewhat decently. In other words: he’s good at what he does. He pays his taxes and contributes to society just like everyone else.  
  
But Jack is a little divided with this particular gig. On one hand, he really wants it to be over already so he can see Mark again, on the other… now that his daddy scene is done, Jack won’t be in America for much longer.  
  
He really shouldn’t be this attached to Mark. It will only spell trouble for the future.


	11. Slip Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things can't stay perfect forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, we finally made it to this Very Important chapter, I hope you don't hate me too much by the end of it.
> 
> Once again: Thank you all soooo much for all the lovely comments and kudos ♡♡♡♡
> 
> I start with college again on Monday, but I'll try to hold my weekly update schedule for as long as I can. I'm just warning you here that it might be a bit rocky from now on.
> 
> For progress updates, snippets and previews check my tumblr at [rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com](http://rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com/)
> 
> This chapter was Beta'd by the lovely [Fantismal](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantismal/pseuds/Fantismal)♡

They’ve been trying to spend more time together. With Jack’s return date looming over their heads, it felt like the smartest thing to do, to get as much quality time as they could before spending months apart. They had a dinner date the night before, and Jack spent the night at Mark’s as usual, but instead of just leaving and coming back a few hours later for game night, he just sticks around. It was really no big deal. The only extra preparation Jack had to do was grab an overnight bag with a change of clothes.  
  
Sticking around turns out to be great fun. He and Mark set up all the consoles and decide to make some homemade snacks for when the guys come over. Nothing too showy, mind you, but they whip up some sandwiches and have a lot of fun preparing things on their own.  
  
The extra set of hands makes a big difference, and they are done setting things up much earlier than expected. Mark uses that time to press Jack up against a wall and kiss him silly. He startles a bit when Jack hooks his legs around Mark’s hips but Mark picks him up in his arms anyway. When Jack lets go of Mark’s shoulders to tug off his own shirt Mark tightens his grip under Jack’s hips. And asks “Uhm, aren’t you afraid I’m going to drop you?”  
  
Jack just tugs him close by the hair and kisses him softly on the lips. Before saying “Nah, I trust you.” They kiss passionately for a few more minutes, but break apart before they go too far.  
  
Wade and Bob arrive just a few minutes later with loads of hugs and excitement. Apparently, they really missed Jack in the past week, but as soon as Bob lets go of the bone crushing hug, he leans away and looks Jack up and down with squinty eyes behind his glasses.  
  
“Ok, so you were obviously having sex.”  
  
Wade looks a little confused but then stares at Mark for a while before switching back to Jack and nods in agreement “Yeah, they were. Couldn’t you guys wait until after we were gone? What if we walked in on you?”  
  
 Mark is caught by surprise “Wait! How did you- I mean… why would you say that?”  
  
Jack sighs. “Smooth, Mark, very smooth.”  
  
Bob just laughs, “Next time, make sure not to put your shirt on backwards,” he says pushing Jack’s shoulder lightly. “And Mark… I unfortunately know you well enough to recognize your ‘I just got laid’ face. You’re too giddy.”  
  
Mark pouts and grumbles a little bit while Jack fixes up his shirt. “Well, Bob If you are that interested in my sex life… I’ll have you know that we were only making out.”  
  
“Hmm, shirtless?” Bob asks with a knowing smirk. Mark decidedly doesn’t look Bob in the eyes as he blushes.  
  
“Hey, I’m ok with it! At least you got Mark off his porn addiction.” Wade says, just casually sitting down on the couch after dropping that bomb.  
  
Jack giggles out of reflex, “Porn addiction? What does that even mean? I need to know more about this!” He sits next to Wade but almost gets trampled on when Mark pounces on top of his friend to cover Wade’s mouth making shushing sounds.  
  
Wade shrugs Mark off with ease and just keeps telling the story. “He didn’t tell you about his little porn crush?” Jack shakes his head no, still amused with Mark’s distress. “This was months ago, he just kept going on and on about this one porn star he found that was sooooo perfect.” Mark finally gives up on his attempts to shut Wade up and just covers his bright red face with both hands. “So one day he calls me,” Wade puts one of the controllers up to his ear, pretending it is a phone, “Mark is just freaking out like ‘Wade, I’m not a pervert, right?!’” Wade’s impression of Mark’s whiny deep voice ends up sounding like a constipated whale, triggering Bob’s laughter which in turn makes them all laugh. “He was so obsessed with this Jack guy! Mark just had to see _all_ his videos, even if he had to pay for them.” Jack’s heart skips a beat for a second and he feels crushed by a wave of paranoia. Jack is a common pseudonym in the industry, he tries reasoning with himself. It could be anyone.  
  
“Hey, do I know this Jack?” Mark cringes from where he is sitting in the corner, but Jack really needs to test this. “I do have more experience with gay porn than ya do, maybe I’ve seen some of his stuff.” Jack scoots over to where Mark is still curled in on himself and leans against his shoulder. He starts throwing the names of a few other ‘Jacks’ he knows to see if he gets a reaction, but the guys don’t know the last name and Mark isn’t telling him anything.  
  
He ends up dropping it cause Mark looks super embarrassed. Instead Jack curls up close to him and whispers in his ears that he wouldn’t mind watching porn together if Mark is into that. Porn isn’t really sexy to Jack anymore. He focuses too much on the technical aspects instead of watching it properly, but for Mark he will try.

 

 

  
It takes a while for Mark to calm down enough to properly enjoy game night. He is playing a fighting game with Sean and Sean is leaning against his shoulder raging, cussing, and making weird faces at the screen. That was way too close. A single slip up and Mark could have lost all of this. Mark takes the time to look at Sean, to try and keep this still moment in his memory. He gets so distracted by the image.  
  
_I love him_.  
  
It seems obvious now. He _loves_ Sean. That’s why he’s so afraid of losing him.  
  
Sean looks at him all concerned when Mark’s character gets killed off easily in the game. “Hey, did you lag or something? Your character stopped moving there for a second.”  
  
Mark almost says it.  
  
He starts, “I…” But all the ways that this could go wrong start running around his head.  It would be awkward to confess with Bob and Wade around. It is way too early to say it, and Sean probably doesn’t feel the same. It would only hurt them both. So instead he says “Uhm… I can’t really tell you right now, but promise me you’ll remember this moment, ok? I’ll tell you later,” and decides to save it for when he knows for sure they will last. Maybe after they see each other face to face again.  
  
Sean looks at him a bit weird, but humors him anyway, nudging him off to pass the controller to the next person.

 

 

  
Jack’s evening is going great. After Bob and Wade leave, Mark is still in the mood for some more games. They load up Mario Maker and take turns trying to beat really hard levels. It is very fun to see Mark get frustrated. He is kind of a sore loser and gets grumpier every time Jack gets a little further up the level than him. When Jack tries to see what time it is on his phone, he catches a notification of a new e-mail from Santino of all people. It’s been a while since they talked, and Jack is excited to read something from him, but before he can open the e-mail app, his phone’s screen goes dark. Jack tries smashing all the buttons but soon realizes that his battery is dead.  
  
The worst part is that Jack didn’t remember to pack his charger in his overnight bag. He tries asking Mark for his charger, but it’s no use. Mark has an incompatible device and can’t help with the situation. Jack whines a little about it, but he can’t magically charge his phone with the power of poutiness and a wrong USB cord.  
  
Mark consoles him pretty effectively later by fucking his brains out. Mark spends a long time just teasing the hell out of him, mouthing at Jack’s cock with his fingers buried inside Jack’s hole. Once Jack is a needy moaning mess, Mark casually picks him up and presses him against the nearest wall. Mark’s arms are veiny and his biceps look amazing - he doesn’t seem bothered with Jack’s weight at all. It is not the best position for deep penetration, but the sexiness of being carried around like he weighs nothing is more than enough to make up for it. Jack claws at Mark’s back, holding on for dear life, only loosening his grip to tug at Mark’s unruly hair and guide him into deep kisses. Mark fucks him slow and shallow, pressing up just where he needed it most.  
  
Once Mark finds out how to make him moan the loudest, he doesn’t let up. It gets to the point where Jack’s voice begins to crack, but he is incapable of feeling any sort of shame in that moment. He is way too focused on the rhythmic bouncing up and down to be concerned with what others might think. Mark is the only one that matters right now, and he is certainly loving it.  
  
Mark’s legs wobble a bit when he starts getting close to orgasm, and unfortunately they have to move the fun back to the bed so he doesn’t drop Jack. Jack doesn’t mind it all that much, considering he has one of the best orgasms of his life.

 

 

  
When they wake up in the morning Jack tries to check the time on his phone, still not awake enough to remember his phone’s battery dying. Mark laughs at him, still amazed with how little of a morning person he is. “I just want to check my e-mails! It takes like two minutes! Why can’t my phone make this tiny effort for once in its life?” Mark comforts him with a sweet kiss on the top of his head and offers the use his desktop computer while Mark starts working on their breakfast.  
  
_That’s good boyfriend material right there_ , Jack thinks to himself, the man cooks him breakfast, fucks like a dream and even lets Jack use his computer.  
  
Once Jack has a moment alone with the computer, he checks his emails and finds a nice message from Santino. The man updates him on all the fresh gossip going around ETB, including the rumor that Jack found a sugar daddy in America and isn’t coming back. Jack itches to respond to that e-mail as soon as possible, but he wants to take his time with writing his reply. It’s better to wait until he can get to his own computer. When he is done Jack logs out of his e-mail and hesitates a little before closing the tab. He has Mark’s computer all to himself, and that same paranoia from yesterday comes back with a vengeance. He hovers his mouse over the browser history button, but Mark could have erased that. He considers snooping around Mark’s computer files, but it sounds like such a dick move. He needs to test this! Checking his search history sounds less creepy, so Jack starts typing ETB’s url in the search bar. Before he gets to the “B,” it already shows up on Google’s auto-complete along with a few Google searches: ‘ETB porn’ and ‘ETB Jack’.  
  
Jacks world just crumbles down as he clicks through to the search results and finds the links already purple, meaning someone had visited them already. Just to make sure he follows the link to ETB’s homepage and sees that Mark is still logged on. No question about it, he has an account.

 

 

  
Mark comes back to his room to call Sean down to breakfast. Sean will leave his house right after breakfast today and Mark is already missing his presence. When Mark opens the door, he sees Sean standing up hunched over the computer and breathing really weird, his shoulders visibly shaking.  
  
Mark runs to his side and touches Sean’s shoulder, worried that he might be feeling ill or something. But as soon as he makes contact Sean shrugs him off, turning to look at him like a cornered animal. Mark raises both hands to show he means no harm, but Sean still looks on edge. That is when he budges out of the way of the computer screen, and Mark sees the ETB homepage still open. Mark gasps and before he can try to explain himself Sean cuts him off.  
  
“You knew?”  
  
Mark’s heart pounds in his chest, and he can’t find words for a moment. “Sean… I-”  
  
“Oh, that’s not the right name is it?” Sean gives him a nasty smile. It looks so wrong in his face.  
  
“It’s the one you told me to call you.”  
  
Sean shakes his head and starts pacing the room, “I bet it was really fun to fuck your favorite porn star.” Mark can hear all the bitterness in his voice. “You got what you wanted, right?”  
  
“This was never about your job, Sean.” Mark raises his arms again, hoping with all he can that Sean will understand his reasoning.  
  
“Of course it was. It always is.” Sean turns back to look at him with sadness in his eyes, “You would have told me you knew me right away if it wasn’t all about my work.”  
  
“Would you have given me a chance if I told you I was a fan?”  
  
“ _Fuck_ no.”  
  
“So you understand why I did it? I was just waiting for you to come clean.” Mark can sense the edge of desperation starting to show up in his voice.  
  
“Come clean? I have no obligation to tell you what I do!”  
  
“You know what I meant! I didn’t want to lose you!”  
  
“You don’t get to decide that! Mark, if I knew you watched my videos I never would have dated you in the first place. You can’t keep manipulating me into a relationship I don’t want.”  
  
“I didn’t want to lose you over that. I needed you to give me a chance.” Mark is quickly losing hope and tries approaching Sean again tugging him close in a hug.  
  
“You took away my choice in the matter. God! I knew this was going to go to shit ever since you didn’t let me break it off peacefully.” Sean hides his face in the crook of Mark’s neck, almost like he forgot himself for a second when looking for comfort.  
  
“It doesn’t have to go to shit. Let me fix it.” Mark holds him as tight as he can, too scared to let him go.  
  
“Stop trying to make decisions for me, you selfish prick. I’m not something you can keep for yourself.” Sean pushes him off weakly, his voice cracking in the middle of the sentence.  
  
Everything else just goes by in a blur; all of a sudden Sean is gone. Mark can’t really defend himself and is just helpless as he sees the relationship they built crumble before him. Now Sean is gone, and Mark ruined everything.


	12. Sinking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are different ways to deal with heartbreak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> Do you guys still hate me because of the last chapter? I have to say, the comments section was really fun to go through. So many delightful comments and interpretations! I'm sorry for all the angsty chapters lately, now that we're nearing the end of GMS stuff got real all of a sudden.
> 
> Check my tumblr at [rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com](http://rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com/) for progress updates, snippets and previews!
> 
> This chapter was Beta'd by the lovely [Fantismal](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantismal/pseuds/Fantismal)♡

Mark doesn’t feel sad, not really. Once the break-up sinks in, he is left feeling a strangely empty acceptance. It was only a matter of time anyway. He should be glad they lasted that long, right?   
  
There is no way to convince himself that it is all ok.  
  
His life has an empty void without Sean. Mark’s phone feels weird in his hands every time he gets a text notification and it is not from Sean. His kitchen chair stares back at him in the mornings during breakfast. His bathroom seems too big and quiet when he showers.  
  
A few days after the break-up, his phone alarm rings in the middle of the afternoon. The screen reads: “ _take Sean to the airport ):”_ and all of a sudden Mark’s chest hurts, a deep physical ache that emphasizes everything that is wrong. He still hasn’t changed his phone background, so after he fumbles with the touch-screen to stop the unbearable noise of his alarm, Sean’s smiling face greets him straight away. In a flash, the need to see him just one more time grows to the point where Mark is having a hard time resisting. He had forgotten he set that alarm a couple of weeks ago, and now such a small thing throws him off-kilter.  
  
It’s not sadness, just pain and emptiness.  
  
He considers calling Wade, but for that he’d have to see Sean’s face in the background once again before dialing. Mark hides his keys inside the refrigerator just so he can resist the urge to show up at the airport and doesn’t touch his phone for the rest of the day.

 

 

  
It hits him a few days later once game night rolls back around. Everything’s going just fine. The three of them are all joking around with each other and having fun. Mark still feels weird in his own skin, like he is only going through the motions, but he pushes it all back and tries to enjoy the evening. That is, until Bob comments with a sigh: “I’m gonna miss Sean. It’s too quiet without him.” It’s such an innocuous comment, but suddenly Mark can’t breathe. He doesn’t even notice he is crying until Bob and Wade crowd around him to ask if he’s okay. They weren’t aware of the break-up; it was not their fault Mark had this breakdown. It was just his luck that Bob triggered all the sadness he was keeping at bay.  
  
Mark really didn’t want to out Sean, but the boys just wouldn’t leave him alone until he told them why he had such an adverse reaction to Bob’s words. He had no choice but to tell them the whole story, from his awkward first words when he recognized Sean on sight to their perfect dates to how Sean found out the truth and accused him of being the pervert he’d feared he was all along.  
  
Wade hugs him tightly through the whole ordeal, giving him all the support Mark didn’t even know he needed. “I love him. I love him, and I kept it all from him because I was scared. Of course he’d eventually find out how much of a selfish screw up I am. I fucking deserve this.”  
  
Bob looks stunned for a second. “Jesus, Mark, why didn’t you just talk to each other?” Wade glares at him and tries to scold Bob for being insensitive, but Mark deserves to hear it.  
  
“Because I’m a fucking idiot.”  
  
“Mark…” Wade says with a serious expression, “I know you feel like this is all your fault right now.” Mark tries to interrupt him but Wade shuts him up fast. “Don’t try to argue! I agree that you shouldn’t have kept quiet for so long, but try to reason with me here! Were you really only dating Sean because of some kind of kink?” Mark shakes his head no, “Okay. Were you jealous of Sean’s work relationships?” Mark shakes his head again. “I know you, and I know you’re not that kind of person. You’re not a pervert.” Wade squeezes Mark’s shoulder reassuringly “I’m sure Sean was angry at the time, but you can’t just internalize all this bad stuff. You made a mistake and now you can try to fix it. You got to forgive yourself if you want any hope of getting Sean to forgive you.”  
  
Mark needed to hear that. The words lift a weight that had been dragging him down for days. He probably will still feel bad for what he has done for a long time, but Mark feels one step closer to being ok again.

 

 

  
Jack is angry. He misses Mark like a fucking lost limb, and Jack is so pissed about it.   
  
He cries through the whole taxi ride to the airport. It sucks that he is such an emotional person. His cabbie tries to comfort him awkwardly from the front seat. “Hey buddy, don’t cry! Are you scared of planes or something?” Jack doesn’t even answer him properly, just cries as quietly as he can, rubbing his eyes dry with a corner of his shirt and occasionally sniffling. The driver looks at him through the rearview mirror “Are you leaving someone behind in the city? Is that it?” Jack’s eyes well up with fresh tears despite his efforts to remain stoic and unresponsive. “Oh buddy, don’t cry. You’ll see each other again soon, I’m sure of it.” Jack feels a pang in his chest and hates everything about his situation in that moment.  
  
Jack hates himself some more at the airport. He keeps looking around trying to find something… or someone. He keeps hoping Mark will pop up just out of his line of sight, pathetically wishing that he shows up like some sort of character in a romance flick: with open arms and pleas for Jack to stay. Jack’s mind is betraying him; that’s not what he really wants. He doesn’t want to suffer anymore. Having his heart broken once is good enough. He needs to force himself through this until the whole ‘missing Mark’ ordeal is over. At least until he can talk some sense into his own brain. Staying with Mark is a bad idea, he _knows_ this! Why is it so hard?

 

 

  
Being home again helps a lot with the heartbreak. Now he can finally distance himself and find some peace. Jack falls back into his old routine. He finally changes his phone’s background back to something that doesn’t immediately remind him of Mark, but as he is about to delete the pictures they took together from his phone’s gallery, Jack hesitates. Right now, he is incapable of doing it. Even with all the resentment, he can’t find it in himself to hate Mark yet. He wants to keep these memories of the happy times they had together.   
  
_It will change over time_ , he tries reassuring himself, _I’m not going to miss him forever_.   
  
It gets easier to believe in that as each day passes.

 

 

  
Santino spends the night when they finally manage to be in the same city at the same time. He missed his friend terribly, and after they are done with the more “normal” kind of catching up, it is really a comfort to sleep with him again. It serves two purposes beautifully: the emotional support he needed, and the proof that he can still have a good time after Mark is out of the picture.  
  
Jack can’t help but notice that there’s still something missing. Their friendship is solid and the sex is good, but in no way does Santino come close to replacing what he had with Mark. It’s a different sort of companionship, a different sort of affection.  
  
“Why does it hurt so bad?” They are lying in bed shoulder to shoulder, chatting about inane things and waiting for their breathing to go back to normal.  
  
“Huh? What hurts?”  
  
“It’s been weeks, why do I still want him?” Jack continues.  
  
Santino sighs and turns his head in the pillow to look at Jack in the eyes, “Oh Jack... Are you really sure about leaving him?”  
  
Jack can feel his eyes well up but he holds his tears. “I should be sure. He messed up, he lied just so I would give him a chance.”  
  
“I want to hate him to support you, but I kind of understand why he did it. I thought you were happy with him. You enjoyed giving it a chance, right?”  
  
“I was nothing but a sex toy to him. He lied so he could keep me.” Jack holds on to his anger even when his voice cracks in the middle of the sentence.  
  
“You were _both_ lying to each other. That’s no way to build a relationship.” The jab stings a little, but Jack holds his ground. “Was he really just in it for the sex?”  
  
“ ’Tino, stop being the voice of reason! I just need you to agree with me right now, not make me feel like a dumbass for sticking to my decision.”  
  
“It’s just that… you’re miserable right now, and when you were dating this Mark guy you were the happiest I’ve seen you in a long time.” Santino brushes Jack’s fluffed up hair away from his face gently. “I know he should have told you sooner, but did he really screw up that bad? If you are this sad he’s gone, you can always get back together.”  
  
“He didn’t… not really. But I can’t wait around until he hurts me even worse. What if he starts getting jealous and tries to make me quit my job?”  
  
“What if he doesn’t? Now you’ll never know.”  
  
“Santino, for fuck’s sake!” For some reason the words hit him deep and Jack sits up on the bed, ready to bolt.  
  
“Okay, okay! No need to raise your voice.” Santino grabs him by the wrist before Jack can run from the situation. “I guess we can get over your break-up the regular way, for once. Let’s stuff our faces full of sweets and gossip.”  
  
“…thank you.” For now he’d be okay. Jack is a little scared he will regret this decision forever, but for now he can have cake, cookies, and friendship to keep him afloat.


	13. Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack talks to someone he didn't think he'd ever speak to again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> This chapter was very difficult for me to write: the whole being back at college and some family issues messed up my schedule pretty bad. Those who follow my tumblr might even notice that I didn't have the time to write a "What to expect" post.
> 
> Thank you guys so much for the continuous support you have given me, and I am sorry for any inconsistencies with my posting schedule. I'll try to upload the next chapter in the weekly schedule as usual.
> 
> Check my tumblr at [rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com](http://rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com/) for snippets, previews and other writing related stuff.
> 
> This chapter was Beta'd by the lovely [Fantismal](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantismal/pseuds/Fantismal)♡

Bob contacts him almost a month and a half after Jack left America. It is quite a pleasant surprise, but Jack can’t help but feel a little suspicious. He honestly thought that Bob would have no reason at all to talk to him ever again after his break-up with Mark, but there it is: blinking innocently up at him from his Skype chat is an honest invitation to play an online multiplayer game. Jack hesitantly accepts the Skype call.  
  
“Hey Bob…” Jack says a little hesitantly, waiting for the worst. For a second, Jack wonders if it is some kind of trap to scold him for breaking Mark’s heart, but he is willing to trust Bob. Bob is a nice guy; maybe they could keep some semblance of a long distance friendship.  
  
“Hi Sean, wanna play some stupid games? I miss playing with you.” Bob’s voice sounds a little distorted from the call, but other than that Jack can’t sense any malice.  
  
“Is that really all you want to do?”  
  
“Uhm… yes? What else would I do?”  
  
“I just thought that after the whole Mark thing that you would try to scold me.”  
  
Bob sighs, “Listen, Sean, Mark told me everything.” Jack’s heart pounds in his chest and he braces himself for the name calling blame fest. “It kind of sucks to see Mark heartbroken, but I can understand why you walked out when you did.”  
  
Jack is still unsure if he should trust his luck, but he really doesn’t want to lose Bob’s friendship “And you’re not grossed out?”  
  
“Nah, I don’t care about your job, just your sick Overwatch _skilzz_.” Jack lets out a surprised short burst of laughter; he feels immensely relieved. “You could have let Mark down a little easier though. He is a mess.”  
  
“I know… I’m a mess too.” Jack sighs, “We both messed up in that situation. I can’t say I like that he hid stuff from me, but who am I to say that, right? To be honest, I kinda regret walking out like that.” It hurts to admit it, but Jack really misses what he had with Mark.  
  
“Why don’t you guys just talk to each other?”  
  
“Because…” Jack sighs and runs a hand through his hair, tugging at the strands in frustration. “I don’t know, leave me alone ok… let’s just go blow shit up!”

 

 

  
Jack’s manager is really excited. The director from his gig at Red Leopard kept his promise of recommending Jack around his social circle, and Jack’s manager has been getting e-mails and calls from quite a few American companies. Most of them are just starting to get interested and want to know a little more of Jack’s work and prices, but there are some solid proposals in there too.  
  
“I’ve got a very serious offer from Gay4Pay. We’ve been talking about a one off deal… a longer scene, like 45 minutes to an hour. Not too scripted, but with some guidelines. You don’t even need to audition! It pays pretty damn well if you ask me, kid.”  
  
“Uhm, I’m sorry, but no fuckin’ way! I know the type of videos they do. I want the person with me to actually be attracted to me, thank you very much. Straight guys aren’t my thing. I don’t like being someone’s bait and switch.”  
  
The man laughs. “They want you to be the straight guy! You are fairly unknown in America, and you can act worth a damn. They think maybe you can convince people you are actually straight.”  
  
Jack is baffled. “Well that’s just false advertisement!”  
  
“It’s just a one off deal, who cares? Think about it ok, the money is decent!” His manager insists, but as he realizes Jack isn’t happy with the idea the man sighs. “All right, I guess we can wait for a better offer. America is the land of opportunities, after all.”  
  
Jack is very excited to see his career picking up. It is quite a bubbly happiness that has him anxious to see where this could end up. He also deliberately doesn’t think about trying to contact Mark if and when he ends up in America again. If Jack lets those thoughts get out of hand, he will only end up missing the man even more.  
  
If what Bob said is true, and Mark is as much of a heartbroken mess as Jack is, maybe he had a shot of getting back together. Is it the right thing to do, though? They lied so much to each other. That’s not a good relationship to have. Maybe they were better off apart after all. Jack isn’t even sure Mark will take him back if he tried. Jack sighs and shakes his head to disperse all the mindlessly hopeful thoughts. Better not think about it too much.

 

 

  
Mark tries to move on, he really does. He focuses more on his studies, he spends more time with his friends, he even tries flirting with other people!  
  
It doesn’t work. Mark still catches himself thinking about Sean every time he gets a little distracted. He doesn’t want someone new, he just needs Sean.  
  
Bob tells him about gaming online with Sean, about a serious conversation they had together, about how Sean feels bad for breaking-up too. Mark has no illusions of getting back together with him, but feels comfort in the notion that Sean still cares.  
  
It's in between their usual gaming days, but Sean’s been running through his head all day and Mark just needs some support. He gets on Skype and reaches out to Wade. Wade takes an unusually long time to answer to his message, but after taking forever to type, Wade sends him "Hey, in a voice chat with Bob and Sean right now."  
  
Marks heart drops to his stomach. He doesn’t want to make things weird, so he types a quick response: “Oh, sorry, I’ll just go.”  
  
Just as Mark minimizes the screen he receives another message. It’s Wade again, “Wait! Don’t go, Sean said it’s ok.” And before Mark can insist on leaving a Skype call pops up on his screen and he answers it on reflex.  
  
The first thing Mark hears is Sean’s voice, just the end of a phrase with no context, but he doesn’t even process the words he is so stunned. Mark is a little ashamed of it, but sometimes during the worst bouts of loneliness he’d play one of Jack’s videos on ETB just so he could hear his voice. It wasn’t enough: it helped ease his heartache at the time, but just this small fraction of Sean’s voice makes the difference very obvious. Mark’s chest feels like it’s going to burst. It is a painful sort of joy to be able to hear Sean talking again without the filter of his professionalism.  
  
Mark doesn’t even pay attention to the conversation going on around him. How is he even supposed to respond? How can he just interact normally with Sean after all they’ve been through? He has no idea how to act or what to say, so he just keeps quiet and tries to listen with his full attention to the sound of Sean’s voice.  
  
Eventually Mark relaxes enough to allow himself to chat as well. They settle for a few rounds of Town of Salem: an online game that according to Wade is really fun to play over Skype. Wade takes Sean and Mark through the process of the game-play and soon enough they are all trying to trick each other. Once Mark makes a joke that causes Sean to laugh. He is so overjoyed hearing it that Mark just closes his eyes and basks on it, smiling to himself like a fool. He gets so distracted by it that he ends up forgetting to perform his character’s night ability and ultimately causes the loss of his team on the game. It’s worth it.

After a few rounds where Mark absolutely embarrasses himself with how terrible he is at the game, and where Bob wipes the floor with them using all kinds of chaotic manipulation, Sean and Wade need to leave. Wade has a date with his girl, and Sean is busy with something related to his job. They really can’t stick around. Mark says his goodbyes in a way better mood than when the call started and is soon left on the line with Bob.  
  
“Hey buddy, you alright?” Bob asks.  
  
“Yeah, I’m great, yeah…” Mark still has a smile on his face, but now that he has some quiet time after Sean left, that strange ache comes back with full force.  
  
“Just checking to see if you’re doing ok.” Bob is obviously trying to comfort him and Mark is thankful for it.  
  
“I just…” Mark sighs “I missed him so much, you know… I’ll be fine! Just talking to Sean again is already so much more than I could ever hope for.” Will he ever get over Sean? Probably not. But just this short moment of friendship they shared, even if it broke Mark a little bit more inside, is still better than not having him around at all.  
  
“Alright, Mark, I believe in you. Just know that I’m here for you if you need me. I’m not at Wade’s level of emotional support, but I can still help out.” Mark knows he means it.

 

 

  
It gets easier to talk with Sean with every Skype session. They settle into their old camaraderie and easy friendship to the point where Mark needs to hold himself back to avoid flirting with him. It still sucks to have Sean so close and yet so far. Mark wants to hold him close and whisper sweet nothings in bed with him at three in the morning. He isn’t stupid, he knows where this behavior is going. All this regular contact is making him fall deeper and deeper in love with Sean. It is unfair to Sean, right? He did not agree to this, after all, he probably just wanted to keep his friendship with the guys and Mark was a tag along in a three for the price of two deal.  
  
He really doesn’t want to lose Sean all over again. Mark can just hide his feelings and keep being Sean’s friend for a while longer, but he knows that strategy didn’t work at all before. For once in their relationship, Mark decides to be brave and selfless, being honest about his feelings.  
  
Well, he says brave…  
  
Mark waits until Sean is offline for sure and writes out a long message. It’s better to get this all out, even if his hands are shaking by the time he clicks send.

 

 

  
It was probably a stupid idea to agree to that first Skype call with Mark. The man is so absolutely charming, so ridiculously dorky, that Jack can’t help himself. He keeps getting way too attached to Mark no matter how hard he tries to keep away. If Mark ever shows him the slightest chance of getting back together, Jack has no doubt he will jump straight into it all over again, insecurities be damned.  
  
Jack checks his e-mails first thing in the morning, getting more and more anxious waiting for a new job opportunity in America to show up, hoping to see a message from his manager. Instead he finds an e-mail from Mark titled _I’m sorry_.  
  
It is quite a long message. Mark writes about how wonderful it was to meet him the first time and learn all the wonderful things that made him tick, and how terrible he felt the whole time Mark lied to him. Not once does Mark call him by his stage name, in fact, Mark even makes sure to clarify that while he did meet him first as Jack McLean, he was always Sean in Mark’s eyes, so much more than just his job persona.  
  
Mark talks about how having Sean in his life again was simultaneously the best and most painful thing to ever happen to him, and Jack can relate to that feeling. Those Skype calls finally make him feel complete again, after he left a piece of himself behind when he left Mark in the States.  
  
Mark keeps asking for forgiveness through the whole letter, making Jack feel the urge to hold him in his arms. He sounds so sad and heartbroken. Jack feels guilty for overreacting so badly. He should have waited to have this exact conversation face to face.  
  
 On the last few paragraphs of the message Mark asks him to recall a promise he made during their last games night: the promise to remember that particular moment on the couch. Jack recalls being very confused but going along with Mark’s request anyway, he didn’t really think too hard about it at the time.  
  
_That was the moment I realized I was in love with you. I was too afraid to tell you at the time, so I hid it from you, like I had so many other important things. I thought I could take this secret with me and never let you know, but I can’t do that anymore._  
  
_It hurts me so much to admit it, and I am sure this will mean the end of our friendship, but I just can’t help but fall deeper and deeper every time I hear your voice.  I understand that you are only after a friendship and I want to be clear that I don’t expect us to get back together because of this letter and that you are in no way obligated to respond. If you wish I am even fully prepared to never contact you again._  
  
Jack’s head is spinning; he can barely control his breathing. He reads the whole letter over and over again, and still has a tough time believing his eyes. This could be it! This could be their chance to make this relationship work this time. No fears, no lies, just their dedication to be the best they can be. Jack’s eyes are filling with tears, but he is smiling. He opens up a new e-mail to write all the apologies he needs to give to Mark in return, and hopes for the best.  



	14. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Jack push past their insecurities to make their relationship work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, you guys! This is it!
> 
> Ohhh I'm getting all kinds of emotional... It has been such a great experience, who would have thought a silly little headcanon of mine that I typed on my phone on the way to college would turn into this. 
> 
> You are the best readers I could ever wish for! I felt so accepted into this comunity, all the love and all the support I've gotten is so surreal to me. GMS is my first fanfic in the septiplier fandom but it will definitely not be my last, you guys are all wonderful and I want to keep writing more for you to read!
> 
> Thank you guys so much for the comments, kudos, bookmarks, clicks, everything! Special thanks to [Fantismal](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Fantismal/pseuds/Fantismal) for being an AMAZING Beta and for putting up with my shit.
> 
> I love you guys so so so much. Have fun reading this monster of a chapter!
> 
> ps. I might come back to this AU for an epilogue but it is not certain yet, so be warned. I am still going to keep my tumblr going so if you want to you can still check out [rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com](http://rainbowcheesecake.tumblr.com/), but I can't promise any regular updates.

It’s hard work to be in a relationship again, especially a long distance one. Jack and Mark need to re-learn how to communicate all over again, and it is a constant effort to try not to let their insecurities get the best of them. In the beginning, the distance made it very hard for them to even find the right time to talk; time zones can be a bitch. Their first conversation as a long-distance couple was all about figuring out each other’s schedule and how in the hell they could keep having dates. It takes some figuring out, but eventually they find enough time to at least drop a quick message every day.  
  
Their dates are actually not all that different, to be honest, just on a different platform. They still enjoy gaming together, only now they have to do it over Skype. They stream movies to watch together and even have “dinner dates”. Well…  as close to dinner as the 8 hour difference would let them. Having all the contact through a screen and headphones was a little weird at first, but they are both really invested in making this work.  
  
“Why do you like watching them so much?” Jack asks during one of their Skype dates.  
  
“Uhm… what?” Through the grainy webcam image, Jack can see Mark adjusting his glasses and looking a little confused.  
  
“My videos, duh.  What is so fun about them really?” Jack insists.  
  
“You, mostly.”  
  
“What does that even mean? Why does it get you off to watch me fucking other guys?” Jack sighs. He is after a much more detailed answer.  
  
“How can I even explain this… It’s not- hmm… It’s not really the ‘Sean fucking other dudes’ part. It’s because you look really, _really_ good when you’re having sex.” Mark’s voice gets deeper and Jack can see him shifting a bit on his seat, Jack can tell that Mark is picturing all kinds of dirty shit. The compliment coupled with Mark’s expression makes Jack’s heart beat a little faster. He feels his face heating up and gets feels frustrated with himself. This isn’t the time to get frisky, he wants answers!  
  
“Stop it,” Jack says firmly.  
  
“No, I mean it! You _look_ gorgeous, you _sound_ gorgeous, what’s not to like?”  
  
“The fact that there’s a sweaty dude fucking me and causing all of those reactions.” It seemed so obvious on Jack’s end. He’s heard it all before, why is Mark different from everyone else?  
  
“This is going to sound really weird and maybe even mean, but I don’t see them as other dudes. I guess that if they were a bunch of dildos and vibrators I’d feel the same. For me they’re what you use to cum and that is all.”  
  
Jack sits back on his chair and raises an eyebrow to his camera “Mark, that’s not how you should think about sex workers.”  
  
“I knew it would sound wrong, but you know I’m not like that, right? It’s just that…. I don’t see any of the actors as romantic competition, they’re just there to help you do your job.” Mark gesticulates wildly trying to show the meaning of his words.  
  
“You need to learn how to speak properly.”  
  
“I know…” Mark seems apologetic.  
  
Jack sighs. “Sorry for assuming stuff too.” He did jump to the worst possible meaning of Mark’s words.  
  
“Hey, it’s fine.”  
  
They stay silent for a bit, taking in their respective apologies. It is still a work in progress, but Jack thinks they are finally getting better at this ‘communication’ stuff. “… So… do you, like, picture yourself in their place?”  
  
“It depends…” Jack makes a vague agreeing sound to indicate he was paying attention “Sometimes I like to picture how it would be like if it was you and me in that situation and what I would do to you, how loud you’d get if I did things just the way I know you like the most.” Jacks heart speeds up a little and he crosses his legs a little anxiously, Mark’s voice changed a lot when he talked about sex. “Other times I just wish I was there to see it happening right in front of me, just watching, not even interfering.”  
  
Jack straightens up in his chair “Ok, the first part sounds awesome, the last one… not so much.”  
  
“Huh, why is that?” Mark still sounded a little horny.  
  
“No fucking way I’m bringing you to the studio. Recording is not nearly as interesting as you think: it’s a lot of waiting around, doing things over and over with a bunch of people staring at you. If you came over… I dunno, I guess it would make me feel really vulnerable.”  
  
“If I ever came to the studio to see you I wouldn’t be there to get myself off.” Mark pauses for a bit before hesitantly continuing  “Are you... ashamed of doing your job in front of me?”  
  
“No.” Jack paused. “Ok, maybe a little. It’s just that I still can’t really grasp the fact that you won’t judge me for it. It scares me a little.”  
  
“There’s no need for that.”  
  
“I know, but it’s haaaard!” Jack whined.  
  
“Hey, take your time! If you don’t feel comfortable with it there’s no need to suffer because of something that didn’t even happen yet.”

 

 

  
They are planning out Mark’s trip to Ireland to visit when Sean gets a really good job offer in America again. It’s not as long as his last gig, but still… a full month of Sean after spending so much time apart has Mark annoying all his friends with how giddy he is. Bob is feeling all kinds of proud, he keeps claiming he got them back together, but Wade disagrees, he thinks it was more of a “parent trap” joint effort, really. Mostly, the three of them are just ridiculously excited for Sean’s return.  
  
He can’t convince Sean to spend the month living with him no matter how much he begs and reasons with him. Mark knows that Sean wants to have some space, but he also really wants to spend as much time as possible with him. The long distance relationship is better than no relationship at all, of course, but it doesn’t change the fact that Mark craves the physical contact they had before. He remembers touching Sean’s wrists, feeling his pulse beneath his fingers, Sean’s knobby knuckles entwining with Mark’s own. He remembers the texture of Sean’s hair ticking his nose when they cuddled in bed, the smell of his shampoo. He misses feeling the air of Sean’s breath as he whispered conversations at 3 AM.  
  
Sean does agree with Mark picking him up on the airport, and _boy,_ is that an adventure.  
  
It is way too early in the morning and Mark probably shouldn’t have had that last cup of coffee, but seeing how little he slept the night before he probably wouldn’t even be standing upright without it. Mark isn’t even sure why he’s so nervous. It’s not like Sean could just take one look at him, regret everything they went through so far, and jump right back on a plane to Ireland. Still, it has him re-reading Sean’s texts with his flight details multiple times. Is he in the right place? Yeah, ok. Is he too early? Uhm… probably, but that’s good!  
  
It all stops once he spots the Irishman in the crowd: he is a vision in a beanie and beat up hoodie, wading through the cluster of people pulling along a massive travel bag. Mark is struck dumb with how much he missed him.  
  
While Mark is still considering how to greet him, Sean rushes towards him and almost drops his luggage in the process. Sean wraps an arm around Mark’s shoulders and encircles his waist with the other; Mark is suddenly participating in probably the best hug of his life and tries his best to reciprocate it. Time freezes and all that matters is this. The realization of holding Sean in his arms again sinks in and Mark presses kisses on every inch of skin he can access without letting go of the embrace.  
  
He almost misses the three words being whispered where Sean’s mouth is pressed against his temples, but once their meaning sinks in he picks Sean straight up and off the ground and twirling him around, hearts soaring with joy. They probably look like two giggly idiots but Mark doesn’t care at all.

 

 

  
Once they are finally in private back at Jack’s place, Jack can’t keep himself from touching Mark. It’s been so long and he missed him so much, having Mark all to himself again kind of short circuits Jack’s brain. It was such an overwhelming amount of joy to be able to feel Mark again that he didn’t even feel the effects of the jet-lag.  
  
They kiss for a long time, just getting a feel of each other again, fitting perfectly like two puzzle pieces only to separate and stare at each other, almost like they didn’t believe this was actually happening, but then they get back to kissing again, repeating the process all over again.  
  
Jack threads his fingers through Mark’s messy hair. It’s gotten longer in his absence. He pushes the strands around and playfully tugs to guide Mark better into the kiss. Mark moans softly into the kiss and leans his head into the touch like he’s asking for more. Jack complies and tugs a little harder, breaking the kiss and making Mark bare his throat. Jack presses his lips in a chaste kiss just over Mark’s adam’s apple, feeling it vibrate under his lips as Mark groans.  
  
Mark grabs at his hips, tugging Jack closer. He sneaks a finger just under Jack’s jeans, playing with the elastic of his underwear.  Jack hides his face in the crook of Mark’s neck, breathing in the delicious smell of his cologne and feeling enveloped by Mark. Mark presses kisses on the top of his head and embraces him fully, Mark’s hands wander down a bit and he grabs handfuls of Jack’s ass through his jeans, squeezing a little possessively before returning to his gentle touches.  
  
They don’t make it to the bedroom; Jack pushes Mark down to sit on the couch and kneels down between his spread legs. He has to push Mark to sit back properly several times (the American kept trying to kiss him again every time they drew apart). Once Jack has him the way he wants to, Mark is a sight to behold: melting into the sofa with his pants around his ankles, shirt pushed up to his chest exposing Mark’s coffee colored perky nipples, the tip of his cock only just peeking out from his underwear, a flush of arousal coloring him pink all over. Mark is a feast waiting to be consumed by him.  
  
Mark doesn’t even move while Jack fishes around his bags for the necessary supplies, just looks at him all wide eyed and gorgeous.  
  
Jack does all the work while Mark sits pretty, looking at Jack like he would vanish if he blinked. Every time Jack looks up from sucking Mark off he sees Mark’s dark eyes following his every movement. Maybe he’s trying to record it all into his memory. Luckily, Jack knows how to put on a show and looks right back at him while he licks and suck right on the spots he knows Mark is most sensitive, taking in how Mark’s right leg twitches out of his control, how his abs clench with every hard suck, and how Mark’s breathing is shot to shit by the end of it.  
  
Jack climbs onto Mark’s lap and starts fingering himself; he doesn’t take his time at all, too anxious to tease himself in any way. Mark looks up at him briefly before focusing on pleasuring Jack as much as possible: licking down from Jack’s neck to his chest, stopping for a bit to bite at Jack’s nipples. He runs his large hands up Jack’s thighs leaving goose bumps wherever they pass. Mark grabs his cheeks roughly and spreads them apart a little before sneaking a finger in to join Jack on his efforts to stretch himself, his other hand moving to squeeze at the base of Jack’s cock.

 

 

  
Mark can only sluggishly move as Sean disentangles from his lap only to sit right back down, this time facing away from him. Mark latches his mouth onto the back of Sean’s neck right were his hairline starts, holding him steady with one hand at his hips while the other wraps around Sean’s slight body to curl around Sean’s dick again, stoking him lightly just to tease all kinds of beautiful sounds from him.  
  
He doesn’t even realize Sean was holding his dick steady until he is enveloped in the incredible tight, wet warmth of Sean’s body. Sean leans forward a bit and holds himself steady by bracing his hands on Mark’s knobby knees. This way, Mark doesn’t have the leverage to move his hips and is forced to endure the slow paced rhythm that Sean gives him. Mark can’t say he minds it much; he is too busy trying not to cum too fast.  
  
It is the best sight he could ask for. Mark can see Sean’s lightly freckled shoulders heaving with every gasp, his back muscles shifting every time Sean circled his hips, he can see Sean’s ears turning pink from blushing too hard, and if he looks down he can see right where his dick is connected to Sean’s bubbly ass, jiggling with every bounce down. Mark spreads Sean’s cheeks apart and moans at the sight of that pretty slick pink hole stretched beautifully on his cock. Mark runs his thumb right across where they are connecting and rips a loud moan from Sean.  
  
Mark lets himself be used like a toy until he sees Sean’s legs trembling with the effort to keep moving, only then does he tug Sean back to lean against his chest like he’s a comfy chair, “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says, biting at Sean’s earlobe when his head lolls back against Mark’s shoulder. In this position, Sean doesn’t have enough footing to bounce against him, so he just circles his hips slowly with Mark’s cock stuck as deep as it could in that position. Mark helps him along, grabbing at his hips and pushing him down as deep as he could go, shifting him around until Sean lets out a shout.   
  
“Is this it, baby? Right here?” Sean nods and moans loudly, already beyond words. Mark reaches around with one hand and starts jacking him off hard, intent on making Sean cum as fast as he can, using his other hand to guide Sean’s hips into the penetration.  
  
Sean twists a little in his grip, spreading his legs farther apart and raising a hand to tug at Mark’s hair to guide him into a kiss. The position is a bit awkward, but it feels fucking amazing. Eventually Sean doesn’t even have enough coordination to kiss him properly, and Mark is left to bite at his beautiful red mouth while Sean moans out his orgasm.  
  
Mark only needs to thrust up into Sean’s pliant body for a little while longer to reach his own climax.

 

 

  
They stay entangled in the couch probably longer than it is comfortable, sweaty skin sticking them together, holding on to each other like they could lose this in the blink of an eye.  
  
“I love you so much.” Jack says, looking Mark right in the eyes and trying to convey the full depth of what he feels.  
  
Mark takes Jack’s hand in his and brings it up to his mouth to kiss every knuckle, “I know.” Mark squeezes Jack’s hand harder. “I love you too.”

 

 

  
Jack should learn that life always ends up forcing him to deal with stuff he wants to avoid.   
  
Mark insists on not letting him hide away during the recording week. Mark keeps taking him on dates, even if it is just a 30 minute break for a quick coffee or even if they just hanging out, doing nothing special. Some days they just go out for dinner after Jack is done in the studio.  
  
Of course The Day arrives, and just before hair and makeup starts the power goes out for several hours. Suddenly the whole crew is incapacitated of doing their jobs. It fucks up the entire schedule and sets them back a few hours. Everything snowballs right out of Jack’s control.  
  
As soon as Jack gets the confirmation from the director that they are not going to reschedule the recording day, just work overtime to the best of their abilities, Jack rushes to warn Mark. Mark was supposed to pick him up in front of the studio for a date right after he was done.  
  
Of course, Mark is already on his way and ends up not catching the message until he is sitting right at the lobby.  
  
Jack is already in a robe, almost getting the ok from the camera crew to start the recording, but he still sneaks off to talk to his boyfriend. Mark looks so apologetic, the poor thing, and offers to wait for him in a coffee shop nearby.  
  
Jack needs to confront the reality of Mark coming into contact with his work one way or another, so he might as well do it properly. Jack swallows his fear and grabs Mark by the hand. He drags Mark through the corridors and ignores all the blubbering protests coming from him, “Sean, no. Sean, I can wait here, you don’t have to force it.”  
  
“Shut up.” Jack turns around to face Mark just long enough to plant a very loud smooch on his lips, taking advantage of Mark’s surprise to drag him through the final turns to the recording room.

 

 

  
Mark is astonished. So much new stuff is thrown at him all at once: Sean brings him to his set, introduces him to the whole crew, and nags the director to let him sit in the back while they worked. It’s not like he hadn’t seen Jack’s work before, but seeing it without all the post production is a whole new experience.  
  
Sean is even more attractive like this, but not in the ‘give you an instant boner’ way. Sean is so professional, so efficient.  Mark could see how effortlessly he placed himself just right in front of the camera, how he kept aware of where the lights were hitting him, and how every time the director suggested a different approach  Sean could adapt and deliver anything that was asked of him, even if it meant doing the same scene a load of times.  
  
Mark is just speechless over how beautiful Sean is.  
  
Every once in a while when they give the actors a short break, Sean walks over to him, looking all worried and small, asking if Mark is comfortable, if he wants some water or coffee. Mark wants to kiss him, Sean is so amazing.  
  
Mark falls for him even harder.

 

 

  
It is nerve wracking at first to try to act normally with Mark looking. It took a lot of fake bravado to get him through the whole process of settling Mark in a place he most definitely shouldn’t be. Good thing Jack could use all his charm to get what he wanted.  
  
Jack keeps stealing glances every time the camera pans away from his face, just to check if Mark is still ok with it all.  
  
“Is your boyfriend into this?” His co-star asks from above him. They are waiting patiently for the camera crew to fix up the lighting.  
  
Jack nods. “Yeah, he kinda is.”  
  
“Ugh, I’m so jealous,” the guy whines, “I never found a partner that was supportive of what I do.”  
  
Mark waves at him from where he’s sitting in the back when he realizes they are staring at him, and Jack smiles back at him. “You just have to find the right person,” Jack says, recalling what Santino used to tell him.  
  
In the end, Mark sticks around until the scene is over, hanging out with the rest of the crew while Jack takes a shower. He fits right in and charms absolutely everyone. Jack doesn’t even remember what was so scary about letting Mark know what he does for a living. All the stress of keeping secrets seems like a distant nightmare.  
  
Once Jack is nice and clean, Mark just takes him by the hand and takes him to a nice burger joint, and besides Jack’s literal pain in the ass after a long workday he can’t really find anything to complain about. Mark doesn’t even try to do anything sexual to him at all, respecting Jack’s need for a little break after spending most of the day dealing with sex.   
  
Jack loves him so much he doesn’t even think that saying it out loud encompasses the sheer amount of affection he holds for this man. He is willing to keep saying it for as long as Mark will have him.


	15. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snapshots of a future together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uhmmm, more than a year later, I am back with the Epilogue.
> 
> This was a nostalgia trip to write, and I gotta say I missed these two.
> 
> I'm gradually going to be going back into the first chapters and editing it just to fix grammar and punctuation too!

“Are you Jack Mc’Lean?”  
  
Jack freezes with a package of cookies in hand and Mark looks up like a deer in the headlights. They were just grabbing some snacks before going back to Mark’s place for game night, something they always do whenever Jack is around, but for some reason this is the fateful day.

It’s not the first time someone recognized Jack, but it’s the first time it happens around Mark. The guy that walked up to them looks like a fratboy: young and unashamed in the way he looks Jack up and down. Jack is used to this sort of attention; it’s just as much a part of his job as everything else: interacting with fans of his work is important, and he treats them with kindness for their support, but in this situation he feels lost. No matter how many times he handled this interaction before, it feels different with Mark by his side.  
  
“Hi there, yeah, that’s me. What’s your name? Are you a fan of my work?” Jack slips into his usual speech a little awkwardly and steps in front of Mark, like that can shield him.  
  
“Shit, it’s really you.” The guy laughs, eyes scanning Jack’s face like he’s trying to find something hidden there. “I’m Alex, I guess you could say I’m familiar with your stuff. Fuck, you’re really hot in real life too.”  
  
Behind him he hears Mark snort a laugh, “I know, right?”  
  
The guy seems to realize Mark’s existence, shifting the focus of his staring. Jack doesn’t really know what to do, but thankfully the Alex’s attention span doesn’t hold him for long.  
  
He turns towards Jack again, “Can I get a picture with you?”  
  
“Sure, dude.” Jack agrees.  
  
“I can take the picture for you!” Mark offers. It’s almost unsettling to see Mark reacting so well, Jack is just waiting for some kind of rejection or embarrassment.  
  
The guy wraps an arm around Jack’s shoulder and points at Jack while grinning towards the camera. Jack goes along with it, pulling a slightly goofy face and giving the camera a thumbs up.  
  
Once the picture is taken, Mark walks back over to them and grabs Jack’s hand in his.  
  
Before Alex takes his phone back from Mark he pauses, does another once over for the both of them and asks Mark, “You make videos too?”  
  
Jack answers for him, “Nope, nothing like that, just my boyfriend.” Just a little territorial.  
  
“Boyfriend, huh? You’re one lucky bastard.” The guy takes the phone from Mark and slaps him on the shoulder, “It’s a shame. I’d pay to watch it.” At that Mark finally blushes, and before he can say anything in return Alex is already gone.  
  
Jack watches Alex’s retreating form until he feels Mark squeeze a little harder on his hand to get his attention. “Hey, sorry about that.”  
  
“Sorry about what?” Mark shrugs, “That was actually really funny. You’re _faaamous_ ,” He teases.  
  
“Shut up!" Jack elbows him playfully, “Apparently you’d be famous too. I can get you some contacts in the industry in case you’re looking for a new job.”  
  
Mark laughs and shakes his head, throwing the forgotten Oreo package back in their cart and wheeling away. That certainly went better than expected.

 

 

  
“Sean, holy fuck!” Mark barely gasps out. He is breathless, and his heart is flipping around on his chest. Sean pushes his dick a little deeper inside him and Mark whines.  
  
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Sean moans, “You’re so fuckin’ tight.”  
  
“We need to do this more often.” Mark says, letting his legs fall open just a bit more, giving Sean more room to get even closer. Sean takes the hint and fits his hips flush against Mark’s. Mark can feel him so deep inside it’s almost alarming.  
  
Sean wiggles his hips side to side and clenches his hands down on Mark’s hips. He starts his thrusting slow and deep, barely moving his hips back. It’s exactly how Mark likes it, and it’s at times like these he remembers that Sean does this as a job. Mark reaches down to his own dick and wraps his fingers tight around the head.  
  
It's all slick and wonderful. Mark shifts his hips up to fuck into his own fist and rides Sean’s cock on the way down. He feels full to the brink, and every occasional firm rub against his prostate has him squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his teeth. “Fuck, I never last when we do it like this. Let me suck you off after?” Mark forces his eyes open. He doesn’t want to miss a single second of Sean’s beautiful expressions.  
  
Sean nods, and leans in to bite at Mark’s earlobe. “If I don’t end up coming before ya’… Sure, knock yerself out.” Sean’s raspy voice sends tingles down Mark’s spine. He picks up the pace with his thrusts. Shallower, but faster, and it builds up that pressing need in the pit of Mark’s stomach.  
  
Mark’s toes curl. He desperately hooks them tighter around Sean’s hips, to the point where it makes it harder for him to fuck Mark properly. It doesn’t matter, Mark is already overstimulated. It’s like he’s been lit on fire from the inside. Everything in him tingles: his back arches, the tendons in his neck strain, his hips spasm, and he makes a huge mess all over himself.  
  
Sean whines and sobs and holds his hips in place while Mark rides out his orgasm, his fingers scrabble over Mark’s hips, climbing up his sides, pointlessly wandering his skin.  
  
Once Mark is done he pulls out carefully with a hiss.  
  
“Did you cum already?” Mark asks, slightly out of breath and too boneless to raise his head and check it himself.  
  
“No, but fuuuck I’m so close, Mark!” Sean whines.  
  
Mark cups his hand on Sean’s jaw and brings him in for a kiss. It’s kind of funny to be this lax while Sean kisses him back almost desperately.  
  
“Alright, get over here and fuck my mouth, I’m too lazy to do it myself.” He says with his lips still brushing against Sean’s.  
  
Sean just moans in response.

 

 

  
“Move in with me.” Mark suggests for what must be the twentieth time already.  
  
Jack has been living in America for just over four months; there’s still a lot of his shit he hasn’t even unpacked yet, sitting around in boxes shoved up against the walls where he doesn’t need to worry about them. He patiently sighs and starts his side of the reasoning.  
  
“Mark…”

“C’mon, it just makes sense,” Mark insists.  
  
“I’m not even used to this apartment yet, and-”  
  
“You’re just paying rent for the sake of it. You hang around in my place more than you’re ever in here.”  
  
“My lease is due in two months, I can’t just leave now.”

“You can start prepping things up now, I know how you like to be prepared ahead of time!”

Jack looks away and bites his lip. His next empty argument stuck dead in his throat.  
  
“Sean?” Mark steps close and tugs the bracelets on his wrist until Jack looks him in the eye with a sullen expression. “You know that I know why you’re like this, right?” Mark’s brow creases slightly, “Wait, that was confusing.” He reaches up to cup Jack’s cheek and tries again, “You can tell me anything.”

Jack knows it’s a moot point to try to argue. He is absolutely certain of why he’s fighting Mark so hard on this, and it’s for a stupid cowardly reason. But god damn it he trusts Mark. He grumbles a little but goes for sincerity. “I know it’s fine, and I know it’s probably better for the both of us if I move in. It’s just that…” Jack takes a deep breath, “I’m scared. Scared you’re gonna get sick of me. I’m scared it’s gonna be too much too fast and that it’ll push you away.”  
  
Mark kisses him, just a simple press of lips, but so reassuring at the same time, that Jack’s shoulders feel a little lighter.  
  
“Sean,” he starts, “I’m definitely ready for it. I’m ready to wake up next to you every day, and to have all your knick-knacks mixed in with mine. I can’t wait till we’re complaining about who’s turn it is to vacuum, and all the good stuff and all the mundane stuff that comes with living together.” The idea brings out a smile to the corner of Jack’s lips. “But like, I also don’t want to press you into anything you don’t want to do. I’m game if you are, but I will always wait for you.”  
  
Jack smiles up to Mark, and brings a hand up to fluff up his perpetually messy hair. “Your place _is_ closer to the studio…” Jack is overcome with a warm cozy feeling when he sees the excitement shining in Mark’s eyes. “My lease is up in two months. I’m not sayin’ it’s a sure thing _yet_ … but I think that’s enough time for me to get used to the idea.”  
  
Mark hugs him with so much gusto he picks jack straight up and off the ground. It’s perfect.

 

 

  
“The idea of you as a trademark straight guy is fucking hilarious.” Mark is drying the dishes while Jack finishes stirring the pasta sauce for their dinner, casually giving his opinion on Jack’s most recent job offer: a part in an on-going series for a website about chasing after “straight” guys.  
  
“Hey! I’m a decent actor, I can be the straightest bro ever, bro. No homo, bro.” Jack struggles to keep a straight face.  
  
“Oh, I stand corrected, how could I ever doubt your great skills?” Mark drawls out his sentence sarcastically.  
  
“Damn right, you little shit.” Jack giggles and turns the dial on the stove all the way off.  
  
“I thought you didn’t like scenes like that though, with the whole straight guy going gay for cash.” Mark hands him a plate and moves over to serve himself.  
  
“I don’t, not really; but the director is cool; I worked with him before. He’s great for unscripted scenes like that, and they’re making a good offer now.” They sit down side by side to eat, and before Jack can eat his first forkful he notices Mark staring at his face.  
  
“Something wrong?” Jack asks.  
  
“I was just thinking…”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“You’re talking about work with me.” Mark blushes, “It’s not anything new, but sometimes it just dawns on me that we’re here just talking about it like no big deal.”  
  
“Oh…”  
  
“Yeah,” Mark smiles brightly, “I’m happy you’re comfortable with me being a part of all the things in your life.”  
  
Jack smiles back, “I love you, you big sappy goof.” Mark looks all kinds of giddy. “There’s a part of it where I’m supposed to be in public and get propositioned by the guy in the camera, and I’m totally getting you in the background, I’ll talk to the director about it.” Jack promises already thinking of ways to sneaking Mark into the set.  
  
“It will be like an Easter egg!” Mark exclaims, full of delight and already welcoming the idea.  
  
Jack has to agree with Mark, it’s incredible to think of how far they’ve come.

 

 

  
Jack tangles his hand in his own hair and tugs at it. Something about Mark makes this so much better. He pushes Mark away briefly by nudging with his toes, just far enough to give Jack enough space to flip over on his stomach. Jack arches his back and pushes his butt up. Mark takes the hint and grabs handfuls of his ass, pulling it apart to reveal the handiwork of the long foreplay they’ve spent stretching him up. Jack is ready for so much more, he can’t bear to wait any longer.  
  
“Fuck me,” Jack shivers. “You can stop teasing me now, put it in me.”  
  
Mark traces his hands up the curve of Jack’s spine, and reaches down to position himself. No matter how many times they do this, the first push in always feels incredible. It’s just on the brink of feeling uncomfortable, but it’s a good stretch.  
  
Mark’s body covers his, the bristly scratch of his beard tickles the back of Jack’s neck. He can hear every single deep breath Mark tugs through his teeth. Jack buries his face into the pillow under him and bites the pillow case to muffle his moans. He knows he’s being loud again, and he’s not risking another awkward chat with the neighbors.  
  
It’s no wonder Mark knows exactly how to loosen his resolve, he’s had enough practice to be fluent in all the ways to make Jack completely lose it. “Don’t hold back,” Mark says with a groan, “I want to hear you.”  
  
And that’s all Jack needs to truly let go. He props his ass up and rides back into whatever Mark wants to give him. He can barely pull a satisfying breath and his heart feels like it’s gonna explode out of his chest. His toes curl and his knees skid across the sheets, the dry friction on the tip of his dick is driving him insane, but he can’t even let go of his desperate grasp on the bed covers for long enough to get himself some satisfaction.  
  
Not that it even necessary. Mark angles his thrusting just at the right spot and Jack is gone. He comes without touching his dick at all, his whole body shudders and his eyes roll back. Jack doesn’t even make a sound, he’s so caught up in his surprise.  
  
Mark pulls out and nudges Jack over to lie on his back. Jack can hear the wet sounds of Mark getting himself off with his hand, but can’t be arsed to open his eyes at all. Mark moans one final time and then flops his entire weight on top of Jack.  
  
“Holy shit,” Mark says airily.  
  
“I know,” Jack answers with a satisfied little sigh.

 

 

  
If Jack is being honest with himself, this is the happiest he’s felt in a long time. He can’t really say he expected this would be his life, but here he is, a little over two years into dating Mark, with a nice contract with an up-and-coming American studio, still doing little freelance projects on the side, comfortably living together with his boyfriend.  
  
He’s glad that Mark never gave up on asking him to move in.  
  
“Hey, you know I was talking to my brother, right?” Mark’s voice is soft and smooth. They just settled in for bed, lazily scrolling on their phones, just the light of the LED screens to illuminate the room.  
  
“Hmmm?” Jack indicates for Mark to go on with his story. He’s already close to dozing, but he makes an effort to keep himself awake.  
  
“He asked me if I was going home for Christmas and I was thinking…” Mark turns to lay on his side, looking straight at Jack. “What do you think about coming with me this time?”  
  
Jack senses the seriousness of the topic and turns to look at Mark as well. “Do you want me to go with you? Meet your family?”  
  
Jack can barely see Mark nodding in the low light of the room. “Yeah,” he sounds honest, “My mom’s been asking me to bring you over for a while now, and I really want to introduce you to everybody.”  
  
“That’s…” _Scary? Nerve wracking? Exciting?_ None of the words sound right. “That’s a little overwhelming, but holy shit, it’s so sweet of her to want to meet me!”  
  
“Of course she wants to meet you! She knows how much you mean to me, they all do.” Mark reaches over and holds Jack’s hand in his. “So, what do you say?”  
  
Of course Jack is hesitant, who wouldn’t be at the idea of meeting their partner’s family for the first time. Mark himself was shaky and stammering when he visited Ireland last summer, and it wasn’t even his whole family, just his Ma and his brother Mally. Malcom’s shovel time had nothing on Santino’s. His industry friends were all over Mark: welcoming and supportive, of course, but also very protective of Jack.  
  
In the end Mark had a good time meeting everyone, and Jack as anxious as Jack feels, he knows that it’s not going to be as hard as his gut is telling him it is.  
  
“You know what? Yeah, sure, I’m spending Christmas with you and your family.”

 

 

  
Ohio is cold as fuck in Winter, Mark always forgets that no matter how many times he travels back home for the holidays. He’s waiting for his brother Thomas to pick them up at the airport. He wraps his arms around himself and taps his feet. The John Hopkins airport is a little weird, a little smelly, a little dingy, but at least he can look at some cool art while he waits for Sean to come back. Sean is over by the corner buying them some overpriced coffee to fight off any sleepiness from their early flight and Mark is keeping an eye on their luggage.  
  
“Mark!” Someone calls from another direction.  
  
“Thomas!” It’s his brother, walking steadily towards him with his arms wide open. Mark accepts the invitation for a hug patting is brother firmly on the back in a greeting.  
  
“Long time no see, little brother.” Thomas claps him in the shoulder one last time and lets him go. “Where’s Sean?” he asks while looking around.  
  
“Oh, he’s right over there.” Mark points at Sean who is just walking out of the shop holding two coffees, one in each hand.  
  
Just as his brother looks over and makes eye contact with Sean some random guy approaches him, cellphone in hand, obviously a fan. Mark can sense the incoming fan interaction, and is just about to shrug it off out of habit, but then he looks over at Tom…  
  
Thomas looks puzzled as the guy, who frankly looks just a smidge too young to be familiar with any of Sean’s videos, asks for a selfie and gets Jack to sign some sort of scrap of paper. Mark keeps quiet. It’s not his place to say anything, especially because his first instinct is to appease the situation by inventing all kinds of lies and excuses. It doesn’t even take that long for Sean to be done with the fan, but it feels like ages before he’s stood there, handing Mark his cup of coffee.  
  
“Thomas, it’s nice to finally meet you, I’m Sean.” He seamlessly pretends that nothing happened and offers his hand for Thomas to shake.  
  
“Sean,” Thomas shakes Sean hand, “My sincerest apologies for whatever my brother did to you. I don’t know if he’s done anything wrong, but knowing him, he’s probably a constant annoyance.”  
  
“Hey!” Mark protests.  
  
Sean laughs and shakes his head, “No need for that; I’m just as annoying.” Sean wraps an arm around Mark’s, and Mark immediately feels calmer.

 

 

  
The car ride back to his mother’s place is mostly uneventful. Mark tries sliding into the backseat with Sean until Thomas looks at him with a single eyebrow raised. Reluctantly Mark moves over to the passenger seat, not without great amounts of pouting at both Sean and his brother.  
Sean looks at the scenery with wonder in his eyes and Mark helps point out interesting and fun stuff on the way. He gets overly excited when they pass through NASA and gets into a whole speech about how awesome space is. Thomas rolls his eyes a lot at him, but Sean indulges him.  
  
“So what was that all about with the autographs? Are you famous or something?” Thomas asks when they’re about halfway there.  
  
Mark turns his whole body to look at Sean in the back seat. He finds Sean wringing his hands and picking at the loose threads on his ripped jeans.  
  
“I do some acting, actually.” Sean sounds way more confident than he looks.  
  
“Hey, that’s cool. Anything I might’ve seen?” Thomas asks.  
  
“Haha, definitely not.”  
  
“Do you do theater or something?” Thomas looks at Sean through the rearview mirror.  
  
“Nahh, just some independent online stuff.” Sean raises his eyebrows and looks at Mark very pointedly. Mark chuckles back.  
  
“Well, send me a link sometime, I’d like to give it a look.”  
  
Mark blushes deeply, but Sean just laughs at his face.

 

 

  
Sean charms his mom almost immediately, Mark is quietly impressed.  
  
As soon as he walks in all four of his mom’s dogs come to greet them. They sniff at his and Sean’s legs and wildly wag their tails. Mark kneels down and lets himself get covered in doggy kisses, soaking up all the love.  
  
His mom is smiling so hard she’s squinting her eyes. Without standing up Mark is quick to introduce her to Sean. “Mom, this is Sean. Sean, this is my mom.”  
  
Sean carefully steps over the dogs avoiding their little waggly tails until he’s standing in front of Mark’s mom. He then bowed slightly and said what Mark vaguely understood as a “hello” and “nice to meet you” in Korean.  
  
His mom claps a hand to her chest and looks to Mark looking absolutely delighted. She exchanges a couple more words with Sean in Korean. Sean is a little hesitant and awkward with his pronunciation, but his mom is obviously impressed with his effort.  
  
“Your boyfriend is better at Korean than you are!” His mom teases.  
  
“I know! He’s awesome.” Mark stands up and places a hand on the small of Sean’s back.  
  
His family likes Sean, and that is all he could have hoped for.

 

 

  
At night they cuddle up together in Mark’s old room. Jack’s tummy is full of the delicious spicy food Mark’s mom kept piling into his plate. He feels so much lighter, so much more comfortable. Everything he was dreading about meeting Mark’s family is a long-forgotten nightmare that has no place in the reality where Mark’s mom dotes on him and where Mark’s brother makes an effort to get to know him.  
  
“You look so beautiful when you’re happy.” Mark says in that soft voice reserved for quiet moments like these.  
  
“And you look beautiful all the fuckin’ time.” Jack scooches even closer and kisses Mark soft and slow. He hooks one of his legs over Mark’s hips, and he can feel Mark’s hand sliding underneath the back of Jack’s pajama pants to grab his butt over his underwear. If they were in the comfort of their home Jack’s certain that they would let things escalate further, but as it is, Jack pulls away after a cheeky little bite to Mark’s bottom lip.  
  
“We’ll have time for all that soon,” Jack says, “We have all the time in the world.”  
  
Mark presses a kiss on Jack’s temple, and rests his head back onto the soft pillow beneath him. That is all Jack needs.


End file.
